Optimizing my travels

Wait no, I'm not going on holiday soon. But in the midst of planning for one in July.

Where to? Cousin's wedding in London and this will be my 1st time back there after I graduated more than 10 years ago. So this will be UK-revisit and of course a stopover in Leeds in compulsory.

Now, what am I trying to optimize? My interest in running started when I was in UK. It was also then I unearthed my ability to swim consecutively many laps in the pool (yeah, trying to swim my sorrows away after a bad break-up, seriously) but that wasn't the begining of my interest in endurance sports/ multi-sports yet. All I did was just individually. And that was it.

Managed to swim 20 laps I think at that point of time and I think about 10 rounds of Hyde Park (in Leeds). Can't really remember the numbers.

And upon starting work and subsequently my post-grad studies, it was during the post-grad studies that I had time to gain weight and of course my counter measures were to 'indulge' more in endurance sports. And so it began. I ran...half marathons....included biking and then went for swimming lessons specifically for free-style (I was a breast-stroker only person then). And so my first triathlon was in 2000 in Melaka (A-formosa Tri).

Anyway, I digressed. So now that I am returning to UK, I'd like to at least do a run there. Triathlon will be too challenging logistically. I was excited when I realised London Marathon was quite close to my travel dates, but there are certain criterias to be met before participating. So now I've resorted to 10k runs within the time frame of my travel. Found York 10k run about a week within my travel range, so I think that will be my event to look forward to. York is a quaint city not too far from Leeds. A 20+ minute bus ride from Leeds and it was where more 'entertainment' was back then compared to Leeds.

That being said, I may look for another event within that time too. One before and one after perhaps. Since it is summer anyway....surely there will be lots of events.

*keeping fingers crossed*

Planter project

Nothing very grand but a few weeks ago, I decided to teach my kids about how the plant grows from a seed. So there goes the 'taugeh' plant. This is his second round of the project done in his grandma's house. He wanted to see how tall it would grow, but by the time we left after a week, it was still very much alive and very tall. So he learnt about the plant's lifecycle. Or so I hope he did. :)

Encounters

Today I had an interesting encounter....

Technical meeting in client's office where my ex-boss was also present. Talk about awkwardness on the decade.  I was expecting my ex-colleague but ended up it was my ex-boss present. Hah! So much for thinking of a gossip session :P

But all in all, it ended up not too bad. We were preoccupied with presentations after presentations so it didn't leave much opportunity for interaction!

oh well!

TRX Rip Trainer Certification

I have 'invested' in getting myself certified as a TRX Rip Trainer!

TRX Rip is different from the Suspension Training. This is alot more technical and works the core tremendously.  Rip Training utilizes a lever bar and resistance cord to provide a unique mix of rotation, core stability, control, power, strength, mobility, metabolic conditioning, balance and coordination challenges. TRX has developed a wide assortment of unique, leverage-variable resistance exercise movements, coaching cues, and programming and educational principles using the Rip Trainer, the collection of which comprises Rip Training.

Check http://www.trxtraining.com/rip-training for more information.

Unlike the suspension training which was developed for the US Navy Seals, this was developed for the US Taekwondo team.

I've only been using the suspension trainer and decided to plunge into getting myself certified for the Rip. Boy, I was in for a surprise, but I was very delighted. It was definitely very very very good! And now I am hooked. Now, I need to improve myself before I can teach! I can't wait!!

When I Grow Up, I wanna be....

Typical 'what do you want to be?' question, right? But not for this AIR1.

One weekend, we dropped by a petshop. We will take them for a look-around if its in the mall we're at. So this time, he saw some hamsters and was very interested. He has never asked me for a pet before but somehow that day he did. I tink he was more fascinated by the hamster's cage than anything.

'Mummy can I have one?'

'No, not now. Next time when you are older'

'But I want, Mummy. Then buy this also', pointing to the hamster cages. My mum asked if I still had mine, but told her that she gave them to my cousins who have now given those away too. So, I guess the option to own a hamster won't be so soon. IF I did still have the cage, I would consider sooner, but now its going to be a larger investment, so no way! :P

Then that night, out of the blue I told AIR1 'Next time, when you are older Mummy will buy you the hamster, ok?'
'No, I don't want!' I was surprised, but glad in a way, but I probbed further.
'Puppy?' 'No!'
'Cat?' 'No!'
'Mickey Mouse?' 'No!'
'Rabbit?' 'No!'
'Chipmunk?' 'No!'

Exasperated, I asked....'but just now u wanted a hamster, now what do you want?'

'I want to be a BIG BOY!'

And we all burst out laughing in the car!! :)

Suspension Yoga

Photo Credit to google.com

That was what I did yesterday, and although there were a few other inversion exercises done before, this was the ultimate. It was the coolest thing ever. Right after that 'blood rush' to the head, my scalp was soooooo itchy :) But of course it is quite difficult to get it upright in the begining. I wanna do it again!!

Go search images of 'suspension yoga' and see all the different poses that can be done. Looks really tricky but actually not, unless you are really very very stiff, otherwise it is generally do-able.

Now lets get the upside-down moves going :)

S26 PE Challenge

Now, guess what's that?

Yeah, a crate-ful of milk...S26 PE.

And...it was free!

Long story which I never got to it until now.

Sometime during Ramadhan 2012, I received an SMS asking me to reply to that SMS if interested to participate in the S26 PE challenge. *PE means Picky Eater*...Well, truthfully AIR1 is not really picky but he only eats certain things. Other than that, he doesn't really want to eat and on certain occassions, he can go just the whole day having milk. So I thought I'd just give it a try.

A week later (or so), a lady called to congratulate me for being one of the chosen ones. (According to the SMS, there will be 500) so oklah, at least I'm part of the 500. And the SMS was sent to those who previously registered with them. Yup, once upon a time, I did try S26 for AIR2.

And anyway, the supply was supposed to be for 2 months, and now (today), approximately 6 weeks into it, I'm down to 2 boxes left. :) So much for 2 months! Buuuuuutttt, thank God for the chance to have this for 12 boxes of milk! :)

Last week, the 'counsellor' called to check if there was any improvement or change...but nah, I didn't really think so. He still eats the same stuff but is somewhat more willing to try others. Only thing is that his definition of try - take a small bite and that's it. I think its the age..he seem to be 'outgrowing' his wanting to only take milk the whole day and is willing to have meals. But his meals can be quite sad, from a parents' point of view. Rice only. Ane he means it. Anything he tastes hiding behind the rice will be carefully picked out or irritatedly thrown out, with a scream!

Now let's hope he will definitely outgrow this weird eating habit....

Solomon X-trail

My first so-called trail run, other than it being part of an adventure race or something to that effect. Signed up for it when it opened and was excited.  Close to my house so save travelling time J And then discovered it clashed with PJ Half Marathon. But I didn’t think too much about it as I wanted to try something different. Though I’ve heard it wasn’t too difficult a trail, but being the clumsy me, even walking on asphalt can be tricky. Yes…imagine that.

Was totally surprised that the ‘rack pack’ only consisted of a t-shirt and the race number. What?? What happened to at least a small piece of paper with at least the venue or time or date? Come on! I’m no first timer to races, but first time to this event. But what about first timer to races? I’m not asking for a booklet, but at least just one, ONE sheet of paper.

Found out my ex-colleague was also running and so we met before the start. Men were flagged off at 7am and women at 715am. We ran together until just before we hit the trail. Sorry, Yom, I had to leave you behind. A water pit greeted us at the start of the trail and there were people even taking off their socks n shoes before entering it. WHAT??? It’s a trail run…what did you expect? Clean and shinny shoes at the end of the run?

It was fun because I didn’t trip and fall although it was a slippery trail…after a bout of heavy rain. And I somewhat managed quite well downhill -  no mishaps, and even could take advantage of it to speed!! That’s really rare. I attribute it to the shoes, perhaps J And the uphill, on the ‘2^nd round’ was a bit of a killer. Maybe because I pushed myself quite hard (cos I felt really good that morning) and almost the top, I actually felt light headed. Luckily it was all good when I reached the top.

‘Land mines’ were plenty on certain stretches and it was quite hard to spot at one point because of the glare from the sun.

It was all good as for a 11.4km trail, I managed approximately 1hr 25min (or so) cos I forgot to actually set my watch until somewhere in the trails :P but I did check my watch after the finish, so gauged from there. Now, I am looking forward to more exciting runs like this soon!!

KL Rat Race 2012

That was on 25 Sept 2012.

First time doing the Rat Race after hearing so much about it. Now I know why my previous company never thought of even sponsoring a team!! It's really expensive, although its for charity, I doubt they would want to do it.

It was all fun, albeit we didn't have our 'team of supporters' like the other teams. Most were financial institutions or the likes of it. Few large construction companies and I guess we were one of the only non-financial consultant...:)

We started as a team and finished as a team...though somewhere in between we had 3 people and 2 people running together, trying to encourage each other along. It was all good fun! Maybe another one next year?

River Jungle Marathon 2012

The mummies (After 'morning walk' up the hill)



With the most dedicated runner cum photographer

 

 

It was all planned, knowing that RJM was about 3 weeks after Raya, I had to train hard. But what did I do?

 

I joined the gym just before the fasting month, to provide me with the milleage I required. My weekend runs of roughly 25-35km on Sat and Sun were not enough. I was not getting any weekday runs. So with hope that the gym would provide me with some desired milleage. And so it did. Morning or lunch time 30-40 mins and sometimes strength classes did help. Helped improve my core strength and I believe it did help overall.

 

And so when the BIG day arrived, I was nervous as though it was my first race ever. Yeah, 42km 6 years after my 1st 42km, which was my personal best and which I trained really hard for it.

 

Knowing it was 9 miles away from my house, I felt abit better, but knowing that there was going to be a 3km climb, I was worried. I'm not a hill person. Although I did hill work on and off, nothing has prepared me enough for this. PLan was to try to slow jog, but of course, it was just us, but everyone else seemed to be walking!! (except those fast runners)

 

So, taking it easy....we walked almost the whole climb up (between 17-20km) and slow jog down cos we're old and injured :P tyring to take care of our weak joints :P after the slope down, we started running again....errrr did I say run? ok, jog...:)

 

Somehow Fong asked me to go off first, just before the 25km mark, so likely it was about 24km. REluctant as I was, I left her, asking her not to stop...we didn't have enough training, but for her, she was only 6months post-partum..so it was definitely harder.

 

And so I didn't stop....except to get water, until the 28 (or 29th)km where we were served fresh COCONUT water from the fruit itself!! CAn you believe it?? and after gulping it down so fast, I had to walk about 50m before I could run! And so it started again....I ran until the road through Kg. Sg. Lui, where the marshall says '10km more', but road markers says '16km to batu18 town'..I tried to tell myself, maybe it's 12km, but because I've cycled that way before, I actually knew it wasn't :P

 

But I tredded on...and on...and on...until KM32 (I think) water station, which felt like forever. Ok, I was determined not to stop ....but it was getting hot and feeling of cramps were setting in. thank God for that small water bottle I had. At some point, Nizar cycled by and had like a 20s chat with him. It kept me sane....till KM36, which the road marker evidently still didn't lie, and said 8km to go.

 

At some point between there and the next water stop, I had to walk. It just felt never ending. The main road was not in sight. IT was taking forever. But I felt good because I was getting ahead of people who were previously ahead of me :) that kept me going. Now, 5hrs 30 mins, felt like possible.... so i tredded on.

 

AT KM40, the ladies were so cheerful, saying 2km more, but road markers didn't lie. Yes, 4km more! :P hahahaha so I just tried to keep my spirits up and just kept going. And then perhaps 5:30 wasn't too do-able. now, let's target 6hrs...

 

IT was a very long 4km....and finally '500m - simpang ke KL'...WOW! FINALLY! But that 500m, felt like 1km to me. It took really really really long to reach....and after that final turn, the finishing line was also about 500m away, but spirits were lifted. I was just a tad disspointed that I couldn't do 5:30 (but hell, I didn't train, so how could I?), and tired and knowing I left Fong behind, I wasn't really 'celebrating' at the finishing. hahaha, expressionless finisher, I would say!

 

But glad I took the challenge, and my knee didn't even hurt post race. My heel, which was giving me slight issues was fine too. Now thank God for being able to complete it. Just slightly out of 6hrs....:) And I think its about 43-44km!! :P

 

Now, lets plan for the next 42km..:)

Full Marathon - after so long

Considering conditions of my knee (and also time limitations), I have not been very keen to pursue a full marathon. I know my knee's capabilities, and am very afraid that it may fail me, or cause me to suffer the post-race-effects for very long.

So after long contemplation, knowing my time constraints, I decided to just go ahead and do the very scenic River Jungle Marathon (RJM) which starts literally, at my 'back door'. Well, 9 miles away, that is :P

Managed to convince Fong, who was also dying for some 'target' to train for (but obviously both of us seem to be so 'tidak apa' (not very bothered)), and also wrong timing, cos its only 2.5weeks after the fasting month, so we didn't really have proper training. My so-called proper training was throughout the month before fasting, and the first two weeks of fasting, where i managed some decent 15km during the weekend. After that, it was almost downhill.

After Raya was worse. And field work this time didn't make time for me to even run. My last minute training, the week before the race - Mon&Tues (speed work for 30mins), Wed (strength), Thurs & Fri (7min pace for 40mins) and those were during my lunch break. The only time I could afford :(

And so come race day, all nervous but just went for it.

Stay tuned for the next post for the race write up :)

To cook or not to cook

This year, I've not cooked a proper meal during Ramadhan.

But it all changed yesterday. Well sort of. :) Leaving for a break in two days, I realised I still have some vege leftover from a 'previously planned meal'.  So I decided to make mixed vege. Halfway through I decided to make 'mui fun' (savory rice in thick sauce, sauce which is like that of the cantonese fried kueh teow), so I added a tiny portion of rice. Oh my!! the portion of vege was huge, and now with rice, it became bigger, although i only added very little. Then came the egg to thicken the sauce and it just 'went out of proportion'. I just didn't expect it to be so much!! Though it was just vege essentially. :)

But I was happy I cooked. At least i didn't throw away good vege and I ate what I liked most. Vege!

I still have some salad left. Maybe tonight will be salad with stir fried vege (again!)?

And I 'found' by chance the salad dressing which I once tasted in a Japanese restaurant and liked. I didn't know what it was so I didn't bother looking for it. But when I was looking for mustard 'spread' but in whole grains and Tesco didn't have, I decided to browse a little and saw this 'sesame dressing'. My oh my!! I was so happy when I tasted it and discovered it was the salad dressing which I actually loved!

So now it has become my staple, instead of that whole grain mustard. Into my vege sandwich!!

Planking

Planking has been around for very long - as a form of exercise for core strengthening. But not too long ago, it becamse a fad for a while.

So few months back, I wanted to build core strength. I started some plank exercises. But me being me, after short stints, I will give up. More so, if it is done at home, where suddenly i just feel like planking, the moment I break into sweat, I decide if its worth it to continue or not :P

So far, I've only managed 1min x 3 or 1.5min at one go. Nothing more. And if it is at home, sometimes, I get 'weights' on me!! Yes, kiddos will just plonk onto my back thinking its a 'horsey' ride :)

Moving forward approximately 2 + months, with no consistent planking exercise, just other core exercises, today I decided to test myself and I managed a 3 min plank with no problems at all!!
WOW! I was surprised!

Now, there is hope for a 5 min plank in the near future. Or maybe I need to get a good run before I plank?

Let's try it and see. I guess those core workouts with TRX did help afterall!

Fasting and Workouts

It’s the fasting month and I have managed to squeeze in workouts during the day, and enjoying it. What amazes me is that my normal weekend long run, which after each loop, under non-fasting circumstances, I will have to take a gulp of water. If I don’t by the end of the 2^nd loop, I’ll be feeling really really really ‘dry-in-the-mouth’; but last weekend, when I did that long run again, I managed 4 loops without any drink. Amazing!! Let’s see if this weekend is the same!

We’re allowed to finish work 1 hr earlier. So sometimes I head straight to the gym for an hour. Other times, I’ll use that ‘lunch hour’ at the gym, and go home ‘normal hours’. Hahahaha

And why the ‘dedication’? It feels good to be back to the gym! But it is sad that I don’t get to spend as much time there as I used to. Feels ‘not enough’ but what to do, commitments have changed. So 30-45mins per session is good enough. Keep the longer runs for weekends.

The main drive now is that I have signed up for a full marathon, with killing slopes. YES! 42km, but scenic run through the villages of Langat area. Not a race, so says the organizer, so I’ll take it easy. Just to see how I ‘suffer’ with much less training, compared to 6 years ago. I’m not hoping for another 4:40, but anything less than 6 hrs is an achievement, considering the elevation of the route. Let’s see what happens come September 9^th J

Sahur

So, what sahur (the last  meal in the morning before the dawn prayers during the fasting month) have been like so far?

Last year, my favourite food was roti jala with any curry....and that was it. This year, it's home-made sandwich...wholemeal bread with tomatoes, avocado slices, a slice of smoked chicken and mustard grain as the spread. Other days, there could be egg and a slice of cheese. Depending on what i hada while breaking fast the night before, the cheese and egg are optional :)

ANd I am amazed at how this kept me going the whole day!

Too lazy to cook pasta already....haha

maybe by next week I'll be sick of sandwich, then I'll do pasta :)

Secretly thanking God my kids are still young and I don't have to think of what to cook in the morning for them for sahur. :)

It's Ramadhan again!

Ooh Boy! It's been ages since I blogged. Talk about busy and not having compatible hardware as excuses :P

Neway, time flies and half of 2012 has gone by. Alot of challenges have came and gone and it has been an ardous journey, seriously.

Now, I've seen the good, the bad and the ugly of things and have learnt how to take it in a stride and know when to move along and when to take it to heart. Life's journey has been such.

And guess what? After 4 years, the gym bug has bitten me again. Yeah, the kedukut me has 'invested' in the gym 5 floors below my office....in view that I have a 42km marathon 3 weeks after Raya and with no time in the morning or evening to run or do anything anymore. I'm liking it....I go during lunch for a 40min workout. I go for a 20min sprint after work, during Ramadhan if am rushing back. I go for classes sometimes and well, though am not yet doing 5 days a week like before, but yes, it's been good so far :)

One week of fasting gone....suffered a 'detox' session 2 days' ago because I decided to have 'lemondade' at 9pm....hahaha

And now, typing this at 610am,  am contemplating a run. Contemplate cos earlier, as i was sahur-ring....both kids had their milk and suddenly had dirroehea...wonder what happened, butI think all is well and they're now ok...

so, Good morning and  have a great SUnday!

Five-Finger shoe

The very popular brand, 'Vibram' is actually quite expensive. Beyond my budget for just a running shoe to 'try out'. So when I chanced upon a cheaper version, I grabbed the opportunity and got hubby to buy too.

So when I first wore it window shopping, no difference. When I wore it more than half a day of on-off walking, I felt my calf ache the next day (I was pre-warned, actually). And then when I wore it for a short run, my calf hurt again.

So after a lapse of 2-3 weeks of inactivity, I decided to go for a run...more than 10km. And in my mind, the 5-finger has minimal cushioning (it promotes barefoot running), so I took my regular Ascis to have better cushioning. Boy, I was in for a surprise. Post run, immediately my knees had a achy feeling. I was worried. Is arthritis setting in? I iced both my knees and applied topical gel.

And the next day I was worried if I should take the 5-finger out. But finally I did. This time, it was 4km longer than the previous and guess what?? I didn't even suffer on my knee. (I had blister la, but that is nt relevant, cos I wasn't wearing socks) So I'm going to get myself a 5-finger socks and see what I can do this weekend!

It's highly recommended for those of you with knee problem...I'm not saying its a cure, but it has worked for me (and another friend, which I later found out).

Now, should I invest in a VFF? (Vibram Five Finger)

Air Fryer

I was told of a 'air fryer' and when I went to scout around, the only available is Philips' and it costs more than RM1k. So I didn't think much about it.

I wanted to get a fryer, knowing how much my kids liked fried stuff and I'm not a fan of frying - unhealthy and I don't like the clean-up :P

So when I chanced upon an air- fryer in one of those discount sites, I pounced on it. RM300, and I didn't think twice. So after about 2 weeks from the online purchase, I got the item (sorry no photos - forgot). I was esctatic. I offered to fry nuggets for the kids and they coincidentally wanted to eat that night. And 6 pcs of nuggets was prepared without any mess and tasted real good. Crisp and brown outer, but succulent insides. If i used the mini toaster-oven, I'd have the outer layers burnt. So I was happy with the results.

Then yesterday, I wanted to really fry something. Not something pre-prepared. I bought marinated chicken to fry. AND I was really happy with what I saw and ate. The chicken was crisp on the outer and succulent on the inside. Seriously! And I didn't have to stand over a hot stove, but I could bathe the kids, dress them and do alot more things.

So, what's next? I'm attempting fried oyster mushrooms!

Yippee!!

Learning and teaching a new language

I’ve been trying very hard to vary the language and dialects which I use to communicate with the kids. But so far, it only comes, ‘if I remember’. Otherwise it will be only be English and Malay.

Recently I’ve been consciously slotting in Hokkien whenever I have play sessions with them (not too often, depending on their moods too). So whenever they did well, i.e. fix the puzzle, arrange the items or even just sing and count, I will congratulate them with a ‘high-5’ hand-action and then praise them with ‘clever’ or ‘pandai’ (Malay) or ‘gau’ (Hokkien).

Last night, after fixing a puzzle on her own, AIR2 said ‘gau-lah’ and I was caught by surprise! I smiled to myself and praised her for that too. Then she gave me a ‘high-5’.

Then I asked AIR1 ‘Ai chiak dragon fruit boh?’ (Do you want to eat dragon fruit?) I am not sure if he actually understood me, but at first he looked puzzled, but after I repeated, he nodded. It’s either he understood or he just caught the key word ‘dragon fruit’ :D

Indeed interesting to speak and hear them speak new things in return. Here’s to more Hokkien this weekend!

Single parenthood

Hubby has been travelling alot for about 6 weeks now. All weekends not around. In short, we see him only 2 days a week.

So it's single parenting for me, for the 2 of them!! Weekdays, nothing different from the usual. Only unusual thing is that now AIR1 tends to stay up very late. Almost midnight and he is still awake. Gosh...but thank God he's skipped kindy for May.

On the weekends, it can be quite challenging, trying to humour them and keep them from dying of boredom. However, I seriously do not know if this is the best for them.

So rather than staying home and trying hard to be sane while not getting a high-blood-pressure, I take them out. by the time we get ready, we're too late for the playground in the park cos it'll be hot by then. So our routine? We leave home bout 10 or 11 am (depending on whether I have other errands to run) then we head to the shopping mall. We stroll around, have lunch and window shop some more. By then, AIR2 is asleep. AIR1 is tired. I sit him on the handlebars of the stroller and continue. Sometimes he will ask to push the shopping cart or even the stroller. He can be very helpful nowadays, knowing the limitations I have. (When things get out of hand, technology in the form of a tablet comes into the picture :P)

And by the time he is sleepy, its 3pm or so and its time to leave. Rare cases, AIR2 will awaken and so AIR1 will take over the stroller :) and more shopping continues.

It's quite fun, because when we are out, we are all less stressed. The kids don't get bored easily, esp AIR1.

I wished I could just take them swimming, but I can't handle both at the same time. Only if AIR1 listens....it's impossible cos he always wants it his way.. :)

I also wished I could take them running..but its impossible...so only playground time in the evening for them...and then I will be looking at other people running and wondering how nice it would have been if I could run with them :)

But it's been an interesting time. AIR1 helps me do grocery shopping, has a set toilet-routine, can help me look out for his sister and of course do all those small kaypoh (busybody) stuff :P

Now, it's gonna be dim sum and banana leaf this weekend for us...and shopping for gift for Ahma (grandma).

What did you say?

Gosh! 1 month went by and I've not really logged in or blogged. Crap. So many things happened, but thanks to blogger-friends who do link their posts to FB, I read them there :)

Well, it's been 1 month of turmoil. Yes, you heard right.

New work, new schedules, new arrangements and all sorts of things happening at home. Yes, it was a real 'rojak' of happiness and sadness.

Dramas.

And to top it all, I heard of some bad news about a friend this morning too. :(

Now I am thinking....and thinking of all the things that I've been through this whole month and wondering if it needs to be re-looked. Do I need another drastic change?

(sorry, I am writing in metaphors cos it's quite difficult to get to the point at this point of time)

Now let's go shopping for a present for Mummy's birthday!! :D

This is the way to eat

Before



After

 This is how my almost-two-year-old wallops her drumstick... :)

Kids' Gym

I wasn't too sure if my kids would like it so since there was a free trial class available, I signed them both up. OK, abit wasted cos AIR1's class is later, so I put both in the same class, i.e. meant for up to 3 y/o. So AIR1 technically abit older, and as discovered, the oldest in the class, by 2 months :D



Not feeling so adventurous...try the slide first

As soon as we got in, AIR1 sat for a while and then asked to go home. While I spoke to the lady who manages the place, AIR2 was too excited to wait. She kept pestering me to go in with her. And so I went in, but AIR1 didn't want to enter. It wass indeed unexpected. OK, maybe lasted for like 10 seconds and AIR1 followed us in. :)

On the rolly-polly thingy

There were only 5 kids, including these 2. And AIR2 was the only lil' girl. She was a typical girl. timid and taking things slowly. AIR1 was already running around, sweating...and I was impressed with his balancing skills on the balance beam.

Overall, FlyKidz was great. But now I dunno what to do - sign both up in the same class or 2 different classes? hmmmm ponder ponder...this is supposed to occupy those daddy-less weekends until June...so we shall see how...AIR1 was independent enough and didn't mind the instructors' help. He loved the trampoline and all other stunt-like stuff :D

Almost dead

It amazing that some people just takes things forgranted. As though its the most natural thing to do. Here you are sacrificing so many things, even almost at the brink of death, but u still get selfish remarks of things you should be doing instead.

Maybe I should just drop dead before the seriousness of it all is understood??

And because of this, I keep having flashbacks into the past. And having those what-ifs moments. It can be so negative and demoralizing.

Thank God at least AIR1 could at least say 'Please listen to mummy, if not mummy go hospital'. At least he was somewhat concerned. Worried he wouldn't get to go to the playground, perhaps. hehe

Here we go! go! go!

Whenever I feel like saying 'here we go', a mental image of 'The Cat in the Hat' by Dr. Seuss comes to mind. The show on Disney Jr. has a catchy tune which rings to 'Here we go go go...on an adventure!'...

So here we go!

It all happened so fast and unexpectedly I am baffled. I was just thinking about it while driving today. I was applying for change of jobs. I wanted to leave this $***hole. It was getting from bad to worse. But I had to consider many things. Hub and I travel in our course of work. So we take turns to babysit when it happens. That means we can't be working too far from where the kids are, to make it convenient for us. So I didn't have much hope as there were many criterias to fulfill.

And one day, a call came. And from that fateful day onwards, 2 weeks later, I tendered my resignation!! Yahoo!!

And upon tendering my resignation, I also found out that the back-stabbing which I suspected was happenning, actually happened, and even to larger scale than I imagined. It was absurd. And the boss who was trying to get me to stay (because the ISO audit is round the corner and I'd be gone by then -whocares!), had done alot of assumption in what he would want me to do in the future, plans which I saw coming, but I disliked.

Thank God that I am leaving.

I guess it is only because I am better than that back-stabbing idiot, that is why he feels so threatened...so much so that he is going all out to bring me down. Be little me, make me look foolish...do what you like for the remaining 3 weeks I have. I don't care! Go find your new victim, idiot! There are not many choices left.

And to the boss who must have drank a ton of this idiot's saliva (chinese saying is that you drink the person's saliva and you'll listen to that person), open up your eyes. He's got you wound on his little finger like a yo-yo. And you are more than 10 years more senior than him, I am sure you are much wiser than to just listen to ONE idiot to get news from the whole department.

You both can go rule the shrinking organization.

Cat in the Hat cartoon picture courtesy of Google.

Weaning toddler from pacifier

AIR1 stayed off the pacifier until he was about 6 months old. Until the babysitter used one on him :( I was saddened, but I guess he was one crier until the caregiver couldn't take it. For the well-being of my son, I decided not to make a fuss out of it and go with the flow. And she told me she used it because he was crying non-stop at one point.

AIR2 started the pacifier when she was 2 weeks plus 'young'. Yeah, she was one child who was hard to pacify, even suckling didn't help to put ther to sleep. And she will cry non-stop for no reason. So I resorted to the pacifier.

And how did I wean them off?

AIR1 wasn't 'weaned off' so to speak...he was taken of the pacifier cold-turkey by daddy. Yeah...just one day, he refused to give him the pacifier the whole night and that was it. He stayed off it forever. He was 2.5 years old then. At that time, sometimes when he sees AIR2's pacifier, he will want to try to take it...out of desperation :)

AIR2 was weaned off slowly. She just had to have it during night sleeps but daytime naps she could do with out it. So after about 1 week plus, she totally stopped. Until we were travelling back to hometown where she seldom goes, so she wanted it again. 'comforting'.... and now she is off it permanently. But if she sees it, she will at times want it. Sometimes only. She's 22 months when she stopped...

It's weird how one kid stops cold-turkey while the other has to be weaned off slowly. Maybe also the age difference....and now it's time for potty training ;p

To go or not to go?

When I joined this company, I envisioned that I will stay here very long. Yes, as long as ermmmm ok long lah... I've not stayed longer than 2 years in one place. Opps for some reason or other, there were temptations out there which drove me to change. And twice, the company just went bust! Can you imagine??

So when I joined this, I hoped I could grow old here. hahahaha strange, but yes, I was tired of changing. Plus I had friends here when I joined. Now, friend and friends made along the way are also gone. Things have gone from good to bad. At one point, prospects were great and I thought I'd be reaching my 3rd year here and set a record!!

But....

that may not just happen.

It's not easy to change jobs when you've got school-going kids, or kids in the nursery and home is quite far from the workplace and am on a 'sdn.bhd.' basis, i.e. I don't have outside help when it comes to taking care of the kids and mending the house. All done by hub & I only.

I was reluctant to look for jobs although things are not as rosy here anymore. I perservered. But now, the job came looking for me. Location - not toobad, though I may be driving alot more to send/fetch kids if hub is  not around. Pay - just a slight increase, which essentially makes no difference if I take into consideration parking and all those extra driving. So why move?

New environment and perhaps I NEED THAT change badly!! It sucks when things are what it is like here. And IF I don't take this, I dunno when will I be able to make the change again. there are not many places with these type of work. If I look for a complete change, many may not be able to give me what I want.

Well....so let's just face it, take it or leave it and regret it next 2 months down the road when things turn sour, correct? So I think I shall scram as fast as I can!!

TATA!! :D

Roaches, be-gone!

At one point many months ago, my car was infested with cockroaches. The small-kind. It started with one or two and slowly they built their own home....and from one home it became many, a housing estate and from there it became a district. :D and at one point, there were sooooo many that during one short journey, you could see them going sight-seeing around there car.

YES!! IT WAS THAT BAD!

And I would have AIR1 telling me 'Mummy there!!' back then he would refuse to point it out to me, so i would have to see where he is looking at. Then 'BAM!' and gone! :D

Then I decided to try this 'bait' again, because it worked once before. Placed one beneath the driver's seat and the next day, the 'bait' was totally gone! So I put another, and it disapeared too!! My oh my and of course within afew days, there were no 'special appearances' during our car rides anymore.

Yippeeee!! for now, at least.

Cos AIR2 has the tendency to still drop crumbs unintentionally and intentionally. And sometimes purposely push those crumbs into can't-be-reached places. Oh well...soon, this bait will make its appearance again!

And to those wanting to try this....IT IS efeective!!

School holidays

I love the traffic during this time of the year :D

But then again, am out of KL the last 2 days....OK, so Mon traffic was good. Tues and Wed am not in KL...but in PEnang!!

Yipee! And the kids get to see their grandparents :) It's been quite a whlie since I saw so much joy in their faces...(joy of bullying grandparents perhaps) and of course AIR2 sticks to Ah Ma (grandma) like glue...

Soon, its time for us to leave, but we'll be back again soon....the following week, because I have Malakoff Penang Run to run!!

Good night and see you the following weekend, Penang!

Once upon a time

Was going through old photos to get them printed (yes, lazy...after more than 1 year only I want to get them printed ;p) and I became nostalgic.

AIR2 was once so tiny....the romper was too big for her and AIR1 was equally small :)

How time flies....

and this year is the baby-boom year thanks to the Dragon year....but of course, as much as I'd like to have another and re-live the feeling of being pregnant, for realistic reasons, two is a handful and more than enough....

29th February

That's what you get on 29th February!! :)

Happy Anniversary, Sayang!

Speech development in toddlers

When AIR1 started talking we were really really excited. When AIR2 started to talk, we were excited too, but because she started a lilttle later, and she had a 'partner' to talk too, we were constantly amused.

When AIR1 started his first word, he was barely 10months. It was 'bunga' but everytime he said it, it sounded like 'buah'. When he started to talk properly, i.e. at least proper words, it was almost 14-15months perhaps, can't really remember.

But my mum told me that at 17 months I already could create my own song and sing!! I could recall the singing part but vaguely the age, but back then, the cassette recorder was the 'in' thing and I remembered recording my very own 'single' at that time. I sat in my highchair, pushed the Rec& Play button at the same time and started singing. :)

My first single was about chicken rice, because it was my all-time-favourite. And I remember before I started the song, I had to introduce myself and my age. Hence I do remember roughly my age at that time. Must go back and look for my 'single' stashed somewhere :)

Anyways, so back to AIRs. Now AIR2 started to really grasp and pronounce words properly at about 16-17months...(when I was already singing away ;p) but she just loves to babble.

It is interesting when her brother talks to her and teaches her, immitating how we thought him last time, and she would respond in her very own babbles.

Favourite pastime/ritual for now, sing and pat her dolls to bed, covering them with blanket and sometimes even 'teaching' them. Feeding them, changing diapers and taking them wherever she goes. Now I wonder when will she start to sing.....

*photo credit to google

February 2012

Oh dear, this has to be the boring-est post ever :)

OKOK, just to tell people I am still alive, but I will be back. It's really difficult lately cos kids sleep late and everytime I switch on my lappy, the lil' one will come and 'show her powers'....It's a never-ending power-struggle at home :D

Another week before March sets in...how time flies!

Has February been good to you?

First Fight

Ok, technically not first but first one in kindy. Well, I guess he has reached the stage when boys will be boys.


Daddy texted me yesterday to say AIR1 got into a fight in kindy. I was like ‘OMG!!’ what happened? He said AIR1 got into a tiff with another boy apparently rushing for their water bottles. Then the other boy bit AIR1’s lips. Part of me thought it was rather funny and another was quite concerned.

But boys will be boys and he has a small cut(like how when we accidentally bite our lips or tongue) on his lip but otherwise he was ok. He didn’t even tell me about it in the evening when I fetched him from the babysitter. He told me the other caregiver’s son hit him instead. Hahaha oh well…those two boys have a 'thing' for each other.

Was supposed to asked his teacher more about it but due to the rain, I didn’t…not convenient lah standing there.

So what to do when your young child gets into a tiff? Later that night, Daddy told him that if his friend ever hits him, he should hit back. :) then I told him, but he can’t do that to his sister, even if his sister hit him first. :D

Now let’s sit back and see what happens next time…

Healthier Tuna option

In my attempt to eat healthier after CNY, I’ve decided to make tuna salad, either for dinner tonight or lunch tomorrow. So off I went to get my can of tuna.


I would normally buy solid/tuna chunks in brine but then I saw now they do have in ‘water’ and in ‘spring/mineral water’ depending on the brand. So out of curiosity I took a peek at the nutritional values and compared both.

In my mind, I would think that tuna in water/spring water would have less calories. Fat? Maybe would be the same since the source is from the tuna. But I was surprised to find that, for the brand I bought, per 100g consumed, in brine would provide me with 83kcal and 0.2g fat. But if in water, I would have 87kcal and 0.3g fat. Wait…how does that happen? From another brand, I would be getting 107kcal of fat, when in water!!

Confused.

Must do some research ;p

AIR1's 3rd

3 year just went by in a flash....

Technically, its on the 14th, but because we celebrated it at the nursery today, so I shall write about it today :) No photos because the kids were super excited with the cuppies and goody bag. One of the care-givers' son is a year older than him, also on the same day.

Baked them cuppies at 11pm the night before, finishing only at 130am....:( just as I was going to go to bed, Asrul had cry and wake up restless n seemed disturbed...by the time I went to bed....it was almost 230am..oh dear!

Erm, this time 3 years ago, I was still in the office....oblivious of what was going to happen later in the night which lasted for almost 24 hours....hehehe

But, indeed the 3 years had its ups and downs, but the best of it was knowing that a lil' baby boy is now all grown up....but still as stubborn and manja and likes to bully his sister, when his mood is bad, but loves his sister to bits in his good mood....

We had a quick conversation from kindy to nursery yesterday.

Me: Asrul, how old are you? (holding out my 3 fingers)
Asrul looks at me, until I prompted him....'3'

Me: What's your name?
Asrul : .....(I started saying Asrul, then he followed with) Irfan Riley.

Me: What is your sister's name?
Asrul: Sister
(I couldn't help laughing because it was the first time I asked him this, and it was a technically correct answer) Then I prompted him with Alvina Iman and he said 'Ranya'...

I wonder why kids (well to be specific ASrul) only remembers the last one only...even his own name, eversince he could speak. But he does call himself 'Asrul', only when asked for name, he will not say....weird....

Oh well...soon I'm going to miss his occassional 'Mummy, sayang' , asking me for a hug n kiss....

Mummy & Daddy hope you'll grow up be a brilliant child, succeed in whatever you do and of course, listen to us and treat us well when we grow old :)

Happy 3rd BIrthday, Asrul!!

Durian Cheese Cake

Meant to blog about something else but just because I had this an hour ago, I just had to tell all!!

The durian cheese cake (in the foreground) is awesome!! Have not had anything as awesome as this before. Seriously...the durian's taste and texture is just nice and can feel it. It's potent. Only towards the rear of the cake you get less of it but otherwise it's all durian beneath a cheesy layer.

AWESOME! Go try it in secret recipe....not trying to promote, but it's simply awesome-lah! :D

New Year Challange

Happy New Year!! (yeah, a tad late, but better late than never, right?)

Ok, this has been a really neglected blog....so many reasons and excuses I can give but I just blame it on the fact that when I feel like blogging, it's always the most inconvenient time ever and when I have the time, I'm not inspired. Can? :)

Anyways, my new year sort of started with a bang....yeah, kinda literally, cos I went for the Newton New Year Challenge! Not up to the full monty of 25km in those hills, so I did the 12km only. And of course, this time I fared much better, in fact, really well. A PB for me, inspite of the hilly route. Well, if it was really 12km (it felt shorter than 12, actually) and I did it in 1:13, it's an average of 6min pace...this technically means I can do a sub-60min for a normal 10km run....which I've not done in eons!!

OK, OK, let's just not get too excited for now....

At less than 2km from start, my MP3 decided to bonk out. (My first time taking it out for a race and it does that to me, how ungrateful!! ;p) Then the 'skirt & tights' I wore....had some technical issues...OK, the rear pocket on the skirt is unlike that of the tights so it 'bounces' more when loaded. This time I kept the MP3 in my arm wallet and phone in the rear, so the rear pocket was annoyingly bouncing too much. Less than 500m from start, I took the phone out and held it in my hands...and ran with it that way...then i added the earphones to the hand with my phone...

I'm used to holding my car keys while running, but this felt a lil' too much. I was half annoyed and displeased. But what to do? Continue running lah!!

Then Jaja and Bacin came by....so I kept up my pace with them...till almost the end of the first hill...I let them by, knowing I couldn't keep it up anymore. So I ran my pace, but just as I reached the U-turn, I noticed they weren't too far in front. I had hopes of closing the gap, knowing it was impossible to keep up as there was another hill looming.

Impressed with my own hill work and breathing, I just kept to my pace...knowing I need to conquer another hill and it's only halfway through.

When we reached the main road of Lebuhraya Bukit Jalil, I knew the end was near, but then again, sometimes it's deceiving. After the last water station (seeing I could do it in less than 1:20), I decided to give it a push...but boy oh boy, up that last slope before the right turn at the traffic lights, I felt like passing out!! The distance to that traffic lights seemed forever!! Slowed down a little just after the turn to regain myself...and one final push till the end! Satisfied at 1:13, I was half smiling, knowing it was one great run!! Despite lack of milleage and proper training, I think this was superb (for me lah!).

Now, time to bring out the stroller and AIR2 again this weekend!! :D

The day continued with shopping and walking!!

Have a great 2012 y'all!!