Doing the mime thing again

Argh!

I really really really hate myself.

I keep succumbing to the same illness all over again. It's not the usual URI but the flu virus instead. The symptoms however are more or less the same.

Lost my voice again... doing the same mime thing again... using a total of 8 boxes of tissue at home and in the office. There's so much to do yet all I can do is sleep.

I've always been getting such illnesses in the course of this job that I'm really upset and frustrated about it.

Maybe it's a sign...

A sign.

The Pact

Before the hubby flew off for his detachment, I made a pact with him.

Both of us would have 3 weeks to regain our abs.

Don't look at us in mock shock just like our friends who would scream, "You are not fat lor!" or "[kh] is not fat at all!"

Yes, both of us look nowhere near fat. In fact, I've always been chided for being too skinny when deep down I know I'm NOT. Recently, we have become quite flabby and it started after marriage. We manage to conceal our flabs quite well underneath those clothes. ;P


This was how we looked in 2006 which was taken during our Bintan trip...




We used to look like that w/o hitting the gym. He achieved those washboard abs by doing his usual basketball, soccer and a little bit of running while I did crunches once in a blue moon. That explains why I looked more bloated than him but not too bad for someone who ate normally w/o much exercise except running around from work to various tuition venues, don't you agree?


At least I've still got a bit of abs after eating ok?




Right now?

He has got this beer belly due to his frequent drinking and his tummy never fails to look like a 3-month preggy tummy after eating a good meal. As for me, my flabs are always hanging out my used to be fitting but now insanely tight pants and jeans.


This was us in July this year after sucking in like mad, with our last full buffet meal a few hours before and after a ten-lap swim for him. The agony to achieve this!


(I made a mistake in the date. It's supposed to be July. I'm not quite sure what got into my head.)


The hubby's "divided nations" have since become "united nations" and after sucking in, he managed to redue the size of his 3-month preggy tummy while my look up there isn't quite the depiction of the real me.


Taken in June this year, here's how my actual tummy look like recently.



I'm not afraid to show my flabs as what xtina said was right -- A woman's round belly shows off her femininity and that itself is beautiful.

Um... I hope a woman's roundness in every part of her body shows off her femininity too. Those thighs and legs I'm always proud of are getting stumpier as well.


Check out how greedy and flabby I look in the photos below also taken in July this year.




Epitome of gluttony!

My bestie best frenz who knew me from skinny bitch days commented that I had chicken wings arms now. I kept wearing loose dresses that people thought I was pregnant. *LoLz*

We laughed over it of course. It's a refreshing change from the usual derogatory comments I get from people who dunno me well saying in such condescending tones that I'm too skinny and that I should eat more.

tsk tsk... If only they could see my sorry flabby state now.

Well... even though a real woman’s belly is one with all it’s glorious bends and curves, I really think I should work towards how I used to look.

I hope the hubby is working towards how he used to look too.

Wish us luck!

The Independent Wife

So the hubby went overseas for his detachment this morning (I mean yesterday morning since it's past midnight).

It's been 4 years since he left my side. I used to be this very independent gf whose bf was overseas for detachment half the time. I was the queen of LDR and I'm often asked how I managed to survive his frequent overseas postings. Well, I kept myself really busy during those days. It was just school and tuition, work and tuition every single day.

Then he returned to pursue his studies for 4 years and now he's back in the working world once more. I've since forgotten how I managed to survive without him.

This overseas posting is only for 3 weeks and I know I would definitely be able to assume the role of the independent wife for this short period of time.

Please take some time to vote in my poll

Bumped this post (dated 7th August) up to the top

Have you voted on my nuffnang poll on the right sidebar? -------------------->

Here are the current results:

~♥ 50% Photo updates of your everyday life

~♥ 0% Reviews on dining places and food related topics

~♥ 6% Anything artsy fartsy

~♥ 18% Inspirational & feel good posts

~♥ 25% Fashion, beauty, shopping & all things bimbotic

A majority of you are nosey kaypohs who love to read about my boring everyday life, a quarter of you are really bimbotic while nobody gives a hoot about my food reviews. LOLz

I spend lots of time writing reviews on eateries.

While typing, I would be doing lots of research on certain history of a cuisine and the fine art behind the preparation of the dish. Since I'm a "peasant" and unfamiliar with lots of atas ingredients, I look them up on the internet so that I could describe the dish better to my readers. I try my best to do a restaurant justice when they really deserve it. But seeing the 0% now, I would change my strategy, spend lesser time on food reviews and simply upload droolicious photos with minimal description. Besides, a picture speaks a thousand words.

I'm no beauty guru.

I dunno much about skincare, haircare, bodycare and make up but I simply lurve to try out products and many which I found good, I would recommend to my frenz. I would love to share my knowledge with more people but I don't want to bore the wrong audience. Beauty blogs are a dime a dozen out there on the blogosphere and I'm nowhere near these masters.

I'm also no fashion maverick; I do not have an impressive wardrobe or a collection of fine apparels and I do not shop as much as so many other gals I know of. Nevertheless, since fashion, beauty, shopping is ranked 2nd on the poll, I would look into writing more of such posts.

You're not obliged to poll of course but the results would give me a good gauge of what you babes and dudes like to read about here. This will certainly give me an idea on how to craft my posts.

You can also leave me a note to tell me what you would like to see here if it's not one of the options stated in the poll. FYI I've removed my tagboard due to an influx of spam. I dunno why this is happening but it's getting on my nerves. The cbox may or may not be back.

Updated on 9th August:
The poll does not seem to be showing the past few days. I looked up other blogs using the same nuffnang polls and their polls aren't showing too. *ponders*

Unfolding May's Folder - friends and food are the finest balm for the overworked soul

I've got a total of 14 folders of photos for the month of May. That's far too many events to be updated in one post so I would be updating them by parts.

In the merry month of May I learnt that...

friendship & food are certainly the finest balm for the pangs of the overworked soul



I'm sure some of you Jane Austen fans or literature buffs could see where I got my inspiration for the above quote from.

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Long lost friend

On the labour day holiday, I met up with tf, whom I've not seen for a looooong time. We had so much fun chatting, bitching, gossiping and bimboing and laughing our heads off!



Babe,
I was looking through my folders to see when was the last time we met save for that very brief moment when you went up to my suite on my wedding day. Guess what? It was in 2007 2009! (Bah... can't believe I made a typo in the year and left it on my blog for a few years) Gosh! Was it really that long? It certainly didn't feel so.

I'm really thankful for this friendship of ours. We're those who needn't meet for a few years yet able to connect like good friends each time we meet. Also with each meeting, we would completely fill in on each other's lives and there was never a moment of awkward silence since both of us have so many common topics to share. I think it's every boy's nightmare when gals talk too much, don't you agree? *LoLz*

Ater catching up on what happened in each other's lives over lunch at Din Tai Fung, we hit the malls with a full day of crazy shopping.



Even when it comes to food, we have more or less the same taste which was really great for sharing!


Here are my shopping hauls for that day...

LV eva clutch for myself



and LV mini pochette for my mum



girlish blingbling Korean necklace/choker



I told tf that it was only the first day of the new month and here I was happily swiping card like nobody's business.


After a long time of shopping, we had to replenish our energy for more "cheonging" in the malls so we wound up having a quick bite at Yoshinoya which was the only eatery with seats and without a queue. Glad that this gal eats Yoshinoya coz so many of my frenz don't like the food there.




As if spending the entire day with each other wasn't enough, we had to prolong the day past midnight with some drinks and chatting about the more serious aspects of life.






What I wore that day -- butterfly sleeves top paired with good old denim shorts.




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Brunch @ Riders Cafe & shopping in town

Offdays are extremely precious to me. Most of the time when I coop myself indoor, I would be frantically marking compsitions, drafting my backdated blog posts and doing lots of other bo liao stuff. Hence when I go out, I tend to pack my day to the brim.

First activity lined up for the day was brunch at Riders Cafe with reg, jw and karen. The gals have been talking about having brunch there for the longest time ever and we finally made it there on a resplendant Sunday morning. Midday to be exact.



I love the lush greenery of this place which seemed so far away from the city. The city girl and the country girl coexist in me equally.



It was sweltering inside the cafe despite the relentless whirring of the ceiling fans which only seemed to be swirling the heat around. Nevertheless, the food and the company made up for the stifling heat.



I heard from reg that the chocolate drink isn't as good as it looked.

Jw and Karen had pancakes. The fluffy pancakes arrived lightly dusted with icing sugar and drizzled with blueberries compote. There was a little slab of butter to top it off. The pancakes sure look delicious and I could attest to that after getting a bite off karen's. However, I made a mental note to request for 2 slabs of butter for each layer of pancake should I ever order it the next time. Sinful, but I'm those who love to drench my pancakes in butter.

Reg and I ordered the Riders Breakfast set; Reg opted for sunny-side up while I went for the scrambled eggs. I love the buttery milky taste and the smooth consistency of my scrambled eggs. I have a strong inclination towards savoury food for my mains. Hence, eggs and bacon are my ideal breakfast!

You could see we really enjoyed our breakfast!



After that, I suggested we check out Parco Marina Bay at Millenia Walk as I was intrigued by the "Tokyo Pop Up Store" there. I read from 8 Days magazine that the store was a carefully-curated space which served up quirky knick-knacks from 33 hip Japanese designers. The items there were limited in quantities and the shop would "pop down" after 33 days in 2 May 2010 which would make that day the last day. I wanted to go there before that slice of knack disappeared.

Another good reason to visit the place was for Parco Next Next, a hip enclave which houses 25 budding local designers. The stuff runs the scale from the avant-garde to eclectic. While the clothes and accesories there were indeed enthralling and unique, I couldn't help feeling if I would ever wear such designs out.



I ripped this photo off reg's blog and this is the description that goes with the photo:
"This photo encapsulates the essence and intensity of shopping as an activity. When girls shop together, they virtually enter another realm and become totally oblivious to their surroundings as well as how much they have in their pockets."

I agree on oblivious.

I was completely oblivious to my suroundings and was unaware that jw snapped this.

After that, while reg, jw and karen popped by Octa Hotel for tea, I bade them goodbye and met up with tiffy for more shopping and our usual catching up.



We ended the day by sitting in TCC sharing a healthy plate of smoked salmon salad with tofu. Tiffy scribbled furiously on her notebook to prepare for her work while I flipped fashion magazines and disturbed her ever so often with my occasional outburst of "This is so beautiful!" and "What do you think of this?"

Being meanie tiffy, I swear she wanted to shoot me dagger stares and roll her eyes each time I disrupted her train of thoughts. However, she actually replied and showed interest in whatever I was commenting on without asking me to shuddup.

Outfit for the day




White grecian inspired top from Diva with shorts... yeah like what's new? Singapore is so hot!
For accessories:
- On hair... a bow ribbon brooch from Green Petals. I slipped the safety pin under the elastic band making it look like a hair ribbon
- On neck... necklace which I bought the day before
- On feet... bling sandals from Pretty Fit (pardon the ugly toenails)


Have I ever mentioned here before that I'm constantly on the hunt for the perfect white buttoned shirt?



The definition of the perfect white shirt is elusive; it's different for everybody.

Search as I would in every shop, I just could not find the perfect one I was looking for. It's been years.

A bespoke shirt sounded intriguing however, I didn't think for a minute that it would be worth it.

I know Jennifer Aniston has a perfect one on her in The Break Up. It's from Calvin Klein but I can't find my perfect one from there. =(

I know so many other celebrities have their perfect white shirts too.






Ashley Tisdale goes all casual in a translucent patterned fabric shirt with brightly-coloured bra top underneath




Eva Longoria looks so yummy in her crisp white shirt and lovely waves




and so effortlessly chic in a casual one while shopping with Victoria Beckham




Jennifer Aniston has a fitting one for the office




and a boyfriend white shirt to tease us on GQ







Jennifer Love Hewitt has one that seduces




Rachel Bilson has a breezy flowy one worn with a black spag underneath




Even racequeen Nam Eun Ju has a perfect white shirt


This looks just like a man's shirt but if you look as hot as racequeen Nam Eun Ju, that would be the perfect white shirt and because she's so hot, I will put up more pictures of her.







Now back to the topic... where's my perfect white shirt?

I was about to give up until I stepped into Banana Republic and saw it:



I think I've found my almost perfect white buttoned shirt [see left].

Not too translucent, not too loose, not too tight and stiff, not too manly. It is soft and comfortable with rolled sleeves and a relaxed fit. The buttons at the back lent a hand to its structured fit without feeling too stiff. It can be worn tucked in for a tapered look or tucked out with a belt for a breezy feel.

Thanx to tiffy for suggesting BR! She also advised me to buy the silk and azlon tube dress [see right] which looks immacutely and effortlessly stylish in its simple design. I took her word for it and I'm so pleased with my purchase. I could hear the cash register go Kerching! Kerching! on the 2nd day of May.


A floor laden with shopping bags and other rubbish while the hubby shakes his head and goes, "Again?"




What's printed on the Banana Republic carrier



Um... of US materials?

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Chicago The Musical



On a fine weekday night, reg, karen and I caught Chicago The Musical. It was good but not mind-blowing like what I expected. I would catch the broadway one when the opportunity arises.

After the musical, we had supper at Xin Wang Cafe where jw joined us. It was the only place opened at that time that served proper food.



I've never liked the food at Xin Wang Cafe. Kh says the food is fine and that I'm too picky. I'm so glad to find more friends who agree with me.



Outfit for the day





Simple black dress from Forever 21
For accessories:
- simple faux leather jewelled clutch
- Chanel-looking earrings from Green Petals
- Juicy bracelet from Parco Next Next (which looks like it came with the earrings as a set)
I didn't wear the bib becklace out in the end as it kept shifting around my neck.

More of May's updates coming soon...

Watch this space.

I live in Singapura... I love Singapore

Happy 45th birthday to Singapore!




I've posted this "I Live in Singapura" song a few years back featuring Hossan Leong. I'm not too sure if my international readers would understand and appreciate this song but every Singaporean I know loves this song as we could identify very well with the lyrics.

Here's the cartoon version:

The most beautiful "botak" ever...

Here is the result of my good friend xtina's unwavering courage to sacrifice her hair for charity.



She's a great example of one who possesses inner and outer beauty.

Her beauty shines through so much that a modelling talent scout actually approached her with a namecard post shaving! I had to tease her that even talent scouts don't approach her at all when she got hair. Wahahaha... mean mean me.


Pre-shaving with falsies and all... Those really accentuated her eyes! That was a real smart move. She explained that now that she doesn't have hair, she gotta bring out other features.




The process




And if you watch the video on facebook, you could hear the muffled voice of the emcee interviewing her and egging us to chop our locks too. Thereafter, you could hear delirious cheering when she emerged from her seat. She had the most and wildest supporters ever.


The pri school gang and the bimbos




Her fiance is so sweet lor. He's currently overseas and to support her, he went to the barber to shave his head too. After learning why he wanted to do it, the barber was so touched that he shaved his head for free.


Words from xtina...

Dear friends,

Just to pre-empt you so you won’t too shock when you see me on Monday or anytime next week and the next few months. Meei Ting and I are shaving bald in support of children with cancer this Sunday at Vivocity Central Court. Hair for Hope is an annual event organised by Children’s Cancer Foundation (fondly known as CCF) to invite members of the public to shave their heads in support of children with cancer.

You may be curious about my motivations for doing this. Here is my journey:

I feel that what I am doing is very little and very minimal. I am just doing what I can to help. As I have shared on my profile, my close friend's god daughter has cancer and this blog http://ourfeistyprincess.blogspot.com/ (check it out and click on some ads pls!) shares the daily struggles and ups and downs of the loved ones. It is really not easy to take care of a cancer patient. On top of that, parents have to worry about the cost of the treatment. My friend's god-daughter is lucky that she has a blog to raise funds and awareness for her situation. But there are many kids out there who are not as lucky. Thankfully there is CCF to help them, so I really support the CCF.

Of cos when I first started thinking of shaving for CCF a few years ago, my motivations were different. I just wanted to know how I look like bald and to be able to help others at the same time is a plus. But I never got the guts to do it. I had plenty of excuses for myself then. I would tell myself that I need to get a boyfriend first before losing all my hair. Maybe because my motivations were not very right (and I am rather vain), it wasn’t strong enough to bring me to make the decision to sign up and shave.

However, after learning from my close friend about how worried she is about her god-daughter, all the hospitals ins and outs, and the worries about the cost of treatment. I feel overwhelmed by how much the loved ones had to go thru as well. So the funds would really help to take one load off their minds.

Looking at myself, I am not rich person, so I am not able to give alot of $$ to make a difference; in addition, due to my travelling schedule for work, I am unable to commit time to volunteer as well. So, really, shaving is the simplest act I can do to help and hope to be able to bring funds in. Although I may not be bringing in alot of money, the funds that I have garnered is already way more than the amount I can afford to donate on my own. So I am thankful that my simple act is able to help in some way.

CCF needs to raise S$3,000,000 annually in order to deliver critical services to children with cancer and their families.

I want to do my part and invite YOU to pledge a donation to support our shavings. Online portal for donations will be open till 31 August 2010.

Here are links to our pages:
Meei Ting’s page http://www.hairforhope.org.sg/hfh/shavee/show/803
Christina’s page http://www.hairforhope.org.sg/hfh/shavee/show/577

Click on ‘Donate to this shavee’. You can send us a note of encouragement and/or donate generously! Help to spread the word too. If the link does not work, please copy and paste the address onto your internet browser or search engine.

Note that the money you pledge will be going to CCF even though you may be clicking on donate to this shavee. The money would not be coming to us!

On behalf of all children and families impacted by childhood cancer, I want to say in advance, a BIG thank you! Do take 15 secs to check out this video that won the first prize in Cannes. It is truly worth the time to watch the short film!

Cheers,
Christina