Sure, no one blogs no more. There's Facebook and Instagram. And people are generally more lazy to read stuff.. Especially blogs. There used to be a time when everyone blogged. Now that's passe. Besides, it's easier to post a pic w a short caption.
Blogger sent me an email and I was again reminded that I do have this blog. Ugh. Do I stay or do I go?
Music this year sucked big time. Well, nothing that really stood out.. Not to me *shrugs*
Ok, BTS had some pretty catchy songs released. My girls listened to them to death. To. The. Death. Of. Me. Lol.
Did you watch "Me Before You"? Ok, so it's a sappy rom com based on a book written by JoJo Moyes. It stars Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin. The Hubby graciously accompanied me to watch it when it was released and he was pleasantly surprised that he stayed awake till the end. I couldn't watch it with The Bestie because she hates chick flicks in general ... rom coms even more so. And that was why I dragged The Hubby instead.
So, anyway, this song was on the soundtrack of the movie. I love it. An alternative track by X Ambassadors. Have a listen.
Ahhhh! I finally went and had my nails redone. The last time I had them done was wayyyy back in early Feb. Can you believe the gelish manicure lasted? I had it done gradient style.. so all I had to do was apply a clear topcoat to extend the mani. Since I'm generally a careful person, the gelish manicure did not peel off at all.
I went back to the same lady since she did such an awesome job in Feb.
Here are my nails.. yeah, I love the glitter. And yes, my nails are long. Haha. I love long nails. And the glitter matches my diamond rings. I'm 42 .. we older women love our bling.
I can't believe it's already April. We brought the girls to Gardens By The Bay a few weeks ago. I love that place. So pretty and the cooled conservatories are really awesome to spend some time in.
Honestly, I always think .. this is the day I will finally just shut down my blog, and then I think .. nah, let's just try to keep it going. So, this is me trying .. lol.
It's a new year .. again. How on earth did that happen? Why is time moving so fast? I can't keep up. I have all these plans .. things to do, places and people to see .. and it just gets drowned in the sea of all the everyday stuff I have to do. And now that I am regularly attending classes at the gym, even more I am just pressed for time.
*SIGH*
On the plus side, I am now happier and healthier. And as a bonus, I've managed to shed some weight. Honestly, I am just happy to be able to attend classes and not have a little baby crying at home. My littlest one is now 5 and she is more than capable of entertaining herself while I am at the gym. And my face isn't so ROUND in photos anymore (see my Instagram account). THAT is a happy situation for me. I have hated looking at myself in photos for YEARS. I swear there are some years of my life, back when I was in my late teens .. you could hardly find a photo of me ANYWHERE. I avoided it like the plague. As I got older, I did appear in photos here and there .. but I really didn't like looking at those photos. It was only when I had my first child, that I realized that I should be in more photos. Of course, the photos of just Claudia herself still numbered in the thousands .. but thankfully, I do have photos of her and me together in them.
As camera phones became more prevalent, it did get harder and harder to avoid being in photos. I still disliked seeing myself in them, but I was not as uptight about it as I was before. Recently, though, now that my face isn't as HUGE ... I am happier being in shots with my girls. LOL. Really though, my aim isn't to be as skinny as a model. I am just happier being not as big as before.
It's 1.10am and I am up. I still keep late times .. but I wake up at 8 plus to get ready for class. I find myself not requiring more than 6 hours of sleep on most days. 7 at most. Any more than that, and I end up w a headache that lasts on and off for the whole day. And I wake up w an aching body. That sucks. I'd rather sleep 6 hours and wake up all refreshed and ache-free. I have 2 classes later .. one in the late morning and the other at night. So I am really looking forward to my day.
Yesterday was Claudia's 17th Birthday. I can't believe she's 17. Where did the time just go? I remember driving her to kindergarten in Clovis, NM .. and she was this small, lanky kid with Dora the Explorer hair. And now, she's talking about who is cute in One Direction (we both think Louis is cute ..and yes, I am aware the guy is only 24, ok?!!)
I leave you today with one of my favourite songs right now, by One Direction, of course. I love the lyrics ..
But if you like causing trouble up in hotel rooms
And if you like having secret little rendezvous
If you like to do the things you know that we shouldn’t do
Baby, I'm perfect
Baby, I'm perfect for you
And if you like midnight driving with the windows down
And if you like going places we can’t even pronounce
If you like to do whatever you've been dreaming about
Baby, you’re perfect
Baby, you’re perfect
So let's start right now
While I'm the first to tell you that I am generally not a deeply religious person, I do enjoy listening to all kinds of music .. and I absolutely LOVE this one by Hillsong United. Yes, it isn't a pop or rock song. Lol.
Surprisingly, I can name quite a number of Christian songs that I enjoy listening to and singing along with.
Have you listened to "Touch The Sky"? Have a listen.
Although I do love listening to current songs .. funnily enough, my taste in music can be rather eclectic .. on my iTunes "Purchased Music" playlist .. I have Daddy Yankee's "Limbo" which is Latin Urban music, then "Touch The Sky" which is Christian .. then a Hindi lovesong "Kal Ho Naa Ho" .. haha! Then that's followed by an acoustic rendition of One Direction's "You and I" and the Pitbull and Ne-yo's "Time of our lives" ... hahahah. The Hubby just thinks everything I listen to is noise. HA! That's because he is stuck in the damn 70s and 80s. What the hell. Ok, to be fair .. I just purchased Olivia Newton-John's "Magic" on the iTunes store. LOL. Man, that song brings back memories ... of that awful movie, Xanadu, .. the song was off the soundtrack. That song was released in 1980!! That sure was a long long time ago. I remember the song and the movie .. even though I was 7 years old. I've always loved listening to music. Got that from my Dad I guess. He had records and he liked playing them .. I listened to the Bee Gees, Jackson 5, Olivia Newton-John, Cliff Richard from a very young age.
So I grew up listening to music. It soothes me. I love listening to it. It always makes my day better.
Guess that also explains my recent falling in love with zumba. On top of the fact that the music is so darn catchy, it appeals to my eclectic taste in music. A lot of the songs aren't even in English but that doesn't stop me from enjoying them.
Have you heard this song by The Veronicas? I love it.
The Veronicas are an Australian pop duo from Brisbane, Australia. They were formed in 1999 by identical twin sisters Lisa Origliasso and Jessica Origliasso.
Yes, so I haven't blogged in awhile. And it's already mid-February! Gosh, time is just flying by. Charlotte is in nursery this year. She's 4 years old. She's hating it though .. She'd much rather be home or out with me.
LOL.
I am loving it. Am I an awful awful mom for saying that? hahaha. right now, I don't care!! I happily dump her in class (and she's crying away) and scamper off to meet my bestie for lunch. Hell, we even managed to take in a movie a few weeks ago. What did we watch ? .. Jupiter Ascending. My gosh, Channing Tatum is HOT in it. Mila Kunis is too lar, but you know .. The Bestie and I were too busy drooling over Tatum to notice her much.
I am loving zumba class. I take it once a week. I am trying to increase the frequency. It's not so much for weight loss as it is for just keeping fit somewhat. Prancing and jumping around a pathetic once a week ain't gonna turn me SKINNY *snorts*
It's just to keep the guilt at bay .. the guilt of living what is basically a sedentary life. Yea, I am going up and down ferrying my girls everywhere. But that's just it. I am ferrying them around in my super comfy, air conditioned MPV. Listening to music.
Plus, I wanted to bring my blood pressure down.
And guess what? It has!! My blood pressure which was on the high side for the last 3 years plus is now ok.
Thank God,
Ah yes, this is another of my favourite songs currently. I am loving "Bridges" by Broods. The brother and sister duo hail from New Zealand .. I love Georgia Notts'voice. It has such a haunting quality to it.
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.
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*
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.
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".
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.
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 ..
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.
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.
