Wild wild love

Yes, I've already mentioned this several times .. I love my Kindle Fire tablet. I ALWAYS have all 2500 books with me. I can reread any one of them any time .. and I have so many TBR (to be read) books, it's not funny.

Anyway, my Kindle Fire died. Actually, it didn't die die. There was something wrong with the mini USB port so lo and behold, the darn thing couldn't be charged. AT ALL.

How am I supposed to read all the 2500 plus books on my Kindle if the thing cannot be charged?

I scoured the internet to find out why and later that night, my wonderful handy hubby tried to fix it (I found a You Tube video).

I knew he had never used a soldering iron before (neither have I for that matter) but I was willing to risk it. What was the worst that could happen? The thing was as good as dead if I couldn't charge it anyway.

Alas, it was a good effort on his part but it could not be fixed. *sob*

Sooooooooo,

Momma has a NEW Kindle Fire HDX 7" !! I wanted the 64gb one but they were out of stock so I settled for a 32 gb one. No matter .. that is more than enough for thousands of books !!

Woooooooo hooooooooooooooo!!

Ok, I don't actually have it yet. But the guy who bought it for me at my hubby's request will be back in October with it ..

I am so psyched !! Yes, I am a gadget person .. and I love new gadgets ... I loved my Kindle Fire (it was a first generation model) .. and while it still worked perfectly (other than the charging issue) .. I had admittedly been drooling over the newer models recently. LOL.

Until then, I am using my Kindle Paperwhite. I swiped it back from my eldest .. she has exams anyway .. she has no business reading now. LOL.

While I love the slim lightweight Paperwhite .. I hate that it's in black and white (ugh) and the teeny capacity (measely 2 gb .. who can live with that?!! that's like under a 1000 books or so) .. I am happy it has a built in light though, thank goodness. So temporarily, I am without all 2500 plus of mine. But not for long. Hehe.

Neon lights

Today, I had an IPL appointment. I gave up Brazilian waxing awhile ago and opted for IPL instead. More expensive but the Intense Pulsed Light treatments do not hurt the same way waxing does.

Well,  generally it does not.

I think I have a decent pain threshold. After all, I had my babies without pain medication or epidural. And I did not scream. Or yell. While giving birth I mean.

Anyway, back to IPL. I like the results. Although it is just light, the damn thing that emits the light is also hot. Hot I tell you. Like a freaking iron.

The lady technician applied a very cold gel..  made sense since the damn thing was going to be hot as hell. Then she made several passes over my skin.

Had it been my leg or arm, I would be totally okay with it.

But it was not my arm or leg. It was my "down there".. LOL.
 

And trust me when I say, I was cringing as the damn thing got closer to the really sensitive part. F-ing thing was hot!! 

Lol.
All I could do was pray. And try to not look horrified.

Bestie laughed when I sent a text later. She said I should give up my Christian Grey fantasies if I couldn't handle IPL ..

WTF. lol. I never said I had Christian Grey fantasies. I just mentioned to her that I had read the books. And I may or may not have expressed a mild fascination with the whole BDSM thing. That's it. Hahaha!

Besides, nowhere in the books were there any use of IPL implements lar. 

Bugger bestie. 

Here's a shot of the torture instrument used .. *shudder* 

Heartless

So.

I already feel self conscious wearing sundresses. Not that I hunch my shoulders  or anything like that. I'm just aware that I am not slim. More so wearing a dress.

I was at a restaurant with some friends of mine. We were discussing what we wanted to order and had decided on the pasta.

Lo and behold, this stranger, decided to be helpful and let us know that the pasta was not a huge serving. And that it might not be enough for me. Yes, he said that. And he looked directly at me. Plus, my lunch companions were on the tiny side so.. 

Sigh.

I was mortified. See what I have to deal with? People look at me and think I must eat a mountain of food.

I politely informed him that it was fine and  later ignored him when he tried saying something else.

I'm sure he thought he was being nice. Or maybe not. Whatever. While I'm not the type to cry over such an incident, it doesn't mean I was not embarrassed by it. I just try to not let it bother me too much.

So I'm not pretty or slim. I know that. I'm finally trying to be ok with my size. That's why I'm trying to wear other types of clothing besides the stuff I'm comfortable with. Like dresses. Especially sun dresses. I like feeling the sun or air con on my bare shoulders. I'm sorry if my not-skinny arms offend you. Don't stare at them then. Or that my butt is huge. Look away. Lol.

OR I could just maybe, get bigger sized friends. Lol.

Colors

I accidentally discovered Yuna while I was in the Dorothy Perkins store last week. "Colors" was playing and I really liked it. Of course, at the time, I had no clue who she was but well, Google is my friend .. and after googling snippets of the lyrics, her name and the song title came up.

And I was surprised to find out that she isn't an American singer. She's Malaysian !!

AWESOME.

Her voice is lovely. She sings beautfully. Have a listen to her song "Colors".

Do you want to build a snowman?

Man, I'd give anything to have snow right now. It has been unbearably hot these past few days. really scorching hot.

And being not skinny, it's hard to wear sundresses .. I am uncomfortable showing my shoulders and generally that amount of upper body skin. My legs are fine. I don't think I have tree trunk legs, well, they aren't supermodel thin (roll eyes) but at least they aren't thick and stumpy.

Anyway, it's been really really hot. I am rethinking my stand.

My yoga pants are comfy. But they are warm. Especially NOW.

So, when Dorothy Perkins had a one for one offer on their cotton sundresses, I ended up buying two.

It's not like I look super fabulous in them. I still look erm, fat. I just don't give a hoot. I choose to not look too long into the mirror when I am wearing any one of them.

LOL.

Of course, my helpful *not* second eldest daughter, asked me outright whether I planned on wearing the dress out of the house when she saw me in it yesterday. HAHAHA. I glared at her and asked her what she meant.

My maid (who I pay a salary to every month) and my eldest daughter (think "blind loyalty" here) .. both said I looked nice. *snort*

I am not delusional.

As I was telling my bestie. Clothes in general, look better on skinny people. ANYTIME. Skinny people look fine in LEAVES I'm sure. Look at the Adam and Eve. They're skinny .. lol.

Just An Illusion

Yes, it seems like it .. an illusion - because I won't be getting a manicure and pedicure ANYTIME soon. Damn it to hell.

2 weeks ago, I slammed the bathroom door on my little finger, accidentally, of course. Right where the nail and cuticle is .. It bled and was swollen for a week. So I delayed my trip to the nail salon. Germs and all that .. Yes, I am a paranoid-about-germs-disease type of person. Yes, I see them sterilizing the equipment they use with UV light .. but no way was I going to let them near my hand  with an open would. I am not that desperate for nice nails.

So today, with the stars all being aligned and all .. I FINALLY had time to rush down to have my eyebrows trimmed AND do my nails. My toenails were really starting to look like talons .. not a pretty picture I assure you.

So, after picking up the girls .. I HAPPILY drove to the salon.

I parked and got out the car. I walked a few steps and as I stepped up on a kerb, my foot slipped. Thankfully, I didn't fall on my ass or knees .. BUT DAMN IT ..

I scraped my ankle on the side of the concrete kerb.

*SIGH*

There was blood .. there was pain .. there was general cursing at the kerb and the world in general.

And no, I'm not usually clumsy. I may have to rethink that about myself now though.

I tell you the stupid scrape stung like hell. I managed to walk normally to the beauty salon to get my eyebrows done. What?! I was already there and paying for parking. I knew I wouldn't be able to get my manicure and pedicure done NOW .. since they have to soak your feet in water .. and I didn't want my open wound in that .. not when 20 million other feet have been in their basin thing.

I tried not to hobble .. made it to the salon .. had my eyebrows trimmed then drove home. I had some things to buy .. but I had this sudden need to rush home and disinfect my wound .. visions of my foot being amputated and not being able to drive made me drive faster home .. LOL.

Here's a pic of my scrape. Eh, it feels worse than it looks ok?!

Guess I'll have to wait a week or 2 to do my nails .. 

Hunting high and low

So, one of the things I bought when I got back from the States 10 years ago was a tabletop electric can opener. Yes, it is a totally unneccesary kitchen gadget but what the heck. We had one in the States and I realized it was really quite useful and convenient. And I know I use it more often than I do my cake mixer .. lol. So I went and bought one then .. against my husband's wishes .. he thought it was totally not worth the money I spent on it. HUH. 

Anyway, my Kenwood tabletop electric can opener has been with me since 2004. It's really a nifty gadget. And my maids all loved it. Past and present. It's so darn easy to use. And the cans are opened cleanly and smoothy. No accidental cuts from jagged can edges .. you tend to get those when you use a manual can opener. I detest those idiotic things.Truly. 

So, my can opener cost me about $60-$80 ... and it's already been around for some 10 years. Not that we eat a ot of processed, canned food. But we do go through condensed milk and canned soup regularly. And canned sardines. So we do use it. It sits permanently at one corner on the kitchen countertop so we don't have to keep taking it out and putting it back in the cupboard. 

Recently, the small part of the opener fell off. Doesn't affect usage. But it still bugged me. So I traipsed down to Courts (the local electronics and home appliances store) to get a new one. 

Lo and behold, they didn't have it. 

Not that I was looking for the same model and brand, mind you. I wanted to buy ANY tabletop electric can opener. They didn't carry a single one. Not any brand. 

We went to different stores and found a hand held electric can opener from a German brand. I didn't want it. I wanted a tabletop one. 

*sigh* 

I finally called up Kenwood Singapore and spoke to the sales department, who informed me that they stopped bringing in the tabletop elecric can opener 2-3 years ago. 

What. The. Hell. 

Obviously, such a gadget wasn't popular here. 

People are sadly misguided. I see TONS of canned goods in NTUC. Most still require a can opener to open them. Are these sad sad people still using a manual can opener? Obviously. 

The lady informed me that it would be costly for me if they were to bring in just one set especially for me - it wasn't just about air freight cost. 

Whatever. 

I went on Ebay UK and purchased a brand new set. YAY!!! Even with air mail costs, it was still affordable. 

I can't wait for my new tabletop electric can opener to arrive. Sure, its the same make and model as the one I have now .. BUT it'll be spanking new and white .. and NEW. LOL. 

Yay to online shopping!! 

My Kindle and I ...

I love my Kindle Fire to bits .. REALLY. I have a newer Kindle Paperwhite .. but the darn thing only holds about 1000 books, and it's black and white (duh) .. so I prefer to use my Kindle Fire .. cos it's a tablet, it has a much larger capacity than the Paperwhite and it's sleek and shiny and it has COLOR. Lol. Yes, so I like seeing the covers of the books I read in full color, OK?!

Anyway, I realized to my horror, that I currently have about 900 unread books there. And I still keep buying them on Amazon. Die la. If I was marooned on a deserted island, sure, I'd be thrilled my Kindle was with me, but how in hell would I recharge the batteries??!

The Hubby wisely said, solar powered recharger. I rolled my eyes .. yeah, right .. and pray tell, where would I buy such a thing NOW? Plus I'd be on a deserted island ... looking for food and shelter might just take priority over trying to finish reading 900 plus books. Just saying.

So, the way I see it .. I'd have to be stranded somewhere with a power point .. and a USB cable to charge to my Kindle .. and preferably without my kids .. or else there would be no reading happening if I had to look after them and forage for food for them ... or I can be stranded with them, but my maid must be there as well .. (lol) .. and it would be nice if food and cold drinks were readily available somehow.

Or .. I can just not even entertain the idea of being stranded anywhere .. and just read off my Kindle in my home. Where there are numerous power points available .. and TV ... and the refrigerator. And most importantly, my maid.

LOL.

Being stranded on a deserted island isn't as romantic as it's cracked up to be .. we saw that on "Lost" .. many pointless seasons of it actually. The only thing hot about being on that island was Matthew Fox and Josh Holloway (or Evangeline Lilly .. depends on which team you're on) .. and even then, it started to get sad after a season or two. I think I'd be one of the first to die if I were stuck on an island somewhere. No food? No cold drinks? No internet and TV? Please, just kill me fast ..

Besides, how else would I buy more books off Amazon without wi-fi? .. hehe.

Hot days ahead ..

Man, the weather here is killing me. Actually, I'm sure I'm not the only one complaining. It's hot, bright n freaking humid. While humidity is good for aging skin like mine (Lol) .. better than dry weather anyway, it's still a pain to live here.

Gimme the four seasons any time ..  I want to have nice, cool weather during some parts of the year. But noooo,  it's freaking hot here all of the time. Or it rains. Then it's hot again. *Sigh*

I've started wearing these sleeve type things when I drive. The sun shining through  my car windscreen used to burn my arms and cause them to tan - what the hell. 

OK, so they're actually meant for riders on motorcycle. But who cares. I tried sunblock..  didn't really work, so I'm praying this does. Here's a pic.

 

And here's a photo of me and my little bunny .. hehe. 

 

Being tall sucks ..

Honestly, I've always detested being tall. Yea, so I'm not THAT tall .. I'm 1.73m .. BUT STILL.

The way I see it, all being tall is only good for ... trying to reach high shelves .. big deal. I am perfectly fine asking someone to get it for me.

*sigh*

So why do I dislike being tall? For one thing, it's hard to blend in anywhere. And I'm big as well, so that's a double whammy .. I am prominent. Not a good thing to be, in my opinion. Not like I look like Maggie Q, damn it.

The other thing is .. the people around me are mostly shorter and smaller than I am .. men included. I sometimes feel like I'm in Liliput or I'm an ogre. It's not so bad now that I'm older .. I don't feel as self conscious as I did when I was a teenager. I'm old enough now to not really give a crap most times. Of course, when we are in an enclosed area .. like the lift, man, I hate it.Tiny, short and scrawny people are everywhere here.

Short is good .. short and petite is better. Even if you're short and on the plump side, it's still better than being tall and broad. I have zero hopes that my girls will be short. They're already mostly taller than their friends of the same age.

An acquaintance of mine was telling me sometime ago that her husband told her that he admired me cos I was independent and capable. I snorted when she said that. Of course, I have to be independent and capable .. trust me, only short petite cute women can get away with acting helpless and needy. And they can also get away with what we call "acting cute" .. ie acting all girly and whiny. It is not a good look for someone tall and big. And I have no desire to try. Granted, I hate that my husband thinks I am totally capable and independent so much so that he doesn't think I require any kind of coddling at all .. it really annoys me sometimes. Even when I'm sick, I usually just shut it and soldier on. I don't have it in me to be all helpless and useless. No matter how much I want to.

Damn my Dad's genes. My mom is short .. why in hell didn't I inherit those genes from her? lol.

Happy Valentine's Day

The Hubby has been unwell..  and is still unwell. Poor man. And he's been busy with the Airshow. I really didn't expect flowers from him.

And I was really pleasantly surprised when they were delivered. Awww,  so sweet he is my man. And when the flowers die and get chucked out, I'll have the note that came with. I love what he said. Yes, I admit. I like hearing him say I'm his. "Mine" - I love that word. Lol.

Happy Valentine's Day!

What do skinny people eat?

I follow Nikita on cable tv. The one with the very slim and pretty Maggie Q. Man, she's gorgeous and she can kick ass (well, in the show she can) .. I was a fan of the old Nikita series too "La Femme Nikita".. the one with Peta Wilson ..

Anyway, last weekend I was watching the latest episodes .. and I was saying to my hubby, "Man, I wonder what she eats to be that slim? Carrot and celery sticks?"

Of course, my bugger husband replied, "Of course, want to be slim have to NOT eat certain foods la"

Eh, what the hell. I do not eat like there is no tomorrow. Lol. I don't. And I don't eat ice cream and chocolate and sweets and pastry everyday or even very often. My one vice is soda drinks. Yes, I know how terribly fattening those things are. I am not addicted to the thing. I CAN and I DO drink water. Duh. It's just that for me, it's either I drink Coke or hard liquor .. lol. I drink it like people drink alcohol to take away stress. Better Coke than whiskey I say.

Anyway, Nikita the series is coming to an end next week. I will miss seeing Maggie Q and Shane West on TV every week. Almost everyone in that series looks good. Lyndsy Fonseca is another pretty face. Real spies all around the world must scoff watching "Nikita" and thinking they'd also like to meet gorgeous spies like Nikita and company. LOL. Shane West is very handsome too.

Yay! The Walking Dead!

Yes. It is back to my morbid fascination with zombies. The Walking Dead is coming back with new episodes! Yayyy!!  I can't wait!  It starts later today on cable TV. Looking forward to it!

We went to the Singapore Airshow on Saturday. It was Family Day for the RSAF so we all went with The Hubby. He was on duty that day anyway. The air show was really awesome. I've always enjoyed aerial acrobatics. The flight display team from Korea, flying in their T-50s put on a really good show.

Here are some pics I took that day. The heat that day was awful. We were there really early, like at 8.30am but by the time the air show started at 10.25, it was really hot. And despite the fact that I'm always harping on the whole sunblock is very important story, I neglected to slap some on myself. Damn it. I got sunburnt on the back of my neck and shoulders, upper arms and my collar bone area. I was pissed. Lol. 

Freebies are often LOUSY ..

I received a Panasonic Lumix compact camera for renewing my newspaper subscription sometime last year. *sigh* It was a lousy deal .. the camera sucks.

So now, I'm looking for a new one ... preferably a Canon. I'm eyeing the PowerShot S200 and a Selphy printer Selphy CP900 .. damn, that's like S$600 in all ..

I'd better get to saving some cash then. Although I LOVE my DSLR ... it's not practical to bring it with me all the time .. so I think a compact would be nice.

Yes, I love gadgets .. If I didn't already have 2 Kindles and an iPad, I'd hanker for an iPad Mini. lol.

And I am looking for a nice Bluetooth speaker too .. but that's not a priority cos I usually play music in my vehicle and seldom at home.

*sigh* .. all these wants and not enough money .. LOL.

Happy New Year, my friends

Honestly, where did 2013 go? It went by so fast. One minute it was the start of the year, the next it's June..  midway, then November. And then it was Christmas. I'm shocked. 

And now, I'm 40. 40 freaking years old. Where did the years go? I have yet to see the Eiffel Tower, Santorini Island in Greece.. and even nearby Bali or Phuket. Damn it.

40 years old. Damn that's old. Lol. And 16 years of marriage. Wow, that's long. It's a miracle we haven't killed each other yet. Haha.