Blogging from Korat, Thailand.

Hello from Nakhon Ratchasima!
Yes, i'm in the Land of Smiles again.. How can I say I don't love it?
Lucky mama managed to get free air tickets, so we headed here for a short break to visit friends for Songkran festival. =)

Spent 2 days at Bangkok.... Somehow, it isn't as happening as what I used to think of it. Maybe its just 2 of us there, or maybe things there have somehow become more expensive.. Or maybe, its cuz i'm just too tired. Walking around alot to cut down on tuktuk fares.

Well, now blogging from Korat. A cheaper alternative to other parts of thailand. Not much for shopping, but much to play with so many Thai pals here. The fun has only just started..

Will blog more when I'm back... with photos!

Huggies!

Save $. Pack your food out...

Uh oh! I think the bento fever has hit me.. Went out today to buy stuff for me to pack lunch/dinner out. Tired of eating outside all the boring and predictable food available. Not forgetting the "forever" rising prices, and the dirty hawker cooks. Yucks!

Just the other day I found flies in my Hor Fun. After complaining, they said it was cause I was sitting on the outside of the coffeeshop and the inside does not have this problem. BULLSHIT!

Yep, I'm researching on Bento lunches now. Feels great to embark on a cooking journey, and saving $ in the process, not forgetting, a healthier choice. Yup! Like my past few posts, i'm loving myself more. So i'm gonna start making little changes to help myself. =)

Will try to post pics of my lunch/dinner boxes.. Bought many accessories today for me to pack food... Will show and tell next time! Till then, taz!

I wanna feel..... The Spirit of Australia..

The country down under, has been a great mystery to me.. I could never understand why so many Singaporeans choose to migrate over, by that, includes, my own blood sister. She moved there years ago, after she got married, and settled down there, with the 2 little kids.

From what i see, living in Australia, the wonderfulness of it, having big houses at a fraction of the prices of HDB in Singapore. Being able to experience the "Western" living, countryside style... Full on, with fireplaces, and such... Its everyone's dream to have a group of friends, sitting around in a cozy house, beside the warm fireplace, holding a glass of wine, laughing the night away.. Well, that's my ideal lifestyle. However, being in Singapore, the hectic lifestyle here, and Housing Standards are totally the opposite.. We all know to own a bungalow in Singapore, to have a home with a size big enough to entertain people, is gonna cost you a bomb.. You either gotta be a millionaire, a way-above-average-Singaporean, or the son of some big shot..

Ok, enough of the pathetic life of mine.. That's what holidays are for isn't it? An escape from reality.. An experience of a lifetime, of cross cultures, or living in a different land altogether.

Australia is in fact, in my MUST GO list. There's just so many places I want to see there! If I had to choose a state, Queensland would be it!



Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and the Pacific Ocean. It is the 2nd largest state in Australia.... Which is also why they have all of Naughty Natxy's Yummy stuff there! This state holds the ever popular, Gold Coast, and has Brisbane as its capital, therefore, being nicknamed Sunshine state, though they experience a variety of weather throughout the state.

Australia does have its own interesting history, going way back to 40000 over years ago.. Along with their share of historical buildings and such.

The Windmill in Wickham Park.
Built by convicts in 1828, it is one of the oldest buildings in Brisbane with the Old Commissariat Store on William Street.

The one place I have always fantasized about going, is the Gold Coast. Call it revengeful, I could never forget that my mum brought my Sis to Gold Coast after her PSLE as my Sis scored well, and got her rewards.. I, on the other hand, was brought to Krabi, from where I started my love for Thailand.. Still, I was always curious about Gold Coast. The photos they took were mesmerizing.. Blue waters, endless shiny, golden brown sand... Tanned, sexy bodies.. Tell me, who wouldn't fantasize to be in a location like that?!


Gold Coast, also known as the Theme Park capital, houses most of Aussie's well known theme parks. Dream world, Movie World, Sea world. I'm crazy about going all these places, my mum brought back some photos from her last visit to my Sis's new house in Aussie.. Sis is a member of the theme parks as she brings her 2 kiddies regularly there.



I wanna go see Tweety Bird, its my all time since my single digit age days, i've watched the cartoons and and replayed till I could mimic Tweety's : "I tawt I saw a Puddy Cat!" My mum said that I watch so much of it's cartoons, that it might be the cause of my Big head, Small feet lookalike. I have a size 5.5 feet... Yet I am a proud owner, of a big, round head. Which my Dad often nickname it: "The Smart Hainan Head".


I also want to go to Seaworld.. To see a real dolphin and what it looks like. Since young, I'm easily amazed by nature. And dolphins were always documented in TV as, the smarter animals, and also friendlier ones.. I have never seen a real dolphin in my life, and I would what it would be like to be up close and personal, feeding one. We always see Travel shows, and the host gets to ride in the water with a dolphin... The feeling of being so close to nature, excites me..


Next stop: The Great Barrier Reef.. Yes! I've seen them shown so much of it on National Geographic, I want to see it with my own eyes! Who cares the fact that I cant swim. I'll wear a float if I have to. What about my water phobia? I'll strap myself to loads of floats and wrap my head in some oxygen mask. Its like in Natxy's Wonder's of the World list. What does it feel like to be swimming amongst the colours of nature?


Did I already mention that I'm a fan of documentaries and Animal Planet? I've always been crazy over the amazing nature that surrounds us. How animals behave. If you know me, you'd also know I've kept almost every animal acceptable in a HDB flat. I just wanted a feel of how its like to live with one.. To be able to observe their activities.. However, wildlife can only be seen from TV in Singapore. Nothing exciting about the wildlife here. Even the Night Safari, the animals are all still hidden or seem bored. They don't seem natural at all! I've watched almost every episode of Steve Irwin's Crocodile Hunter shows, up till the date he passed away. When the news announced his death, I continued watching his memorial shows, and the 5 hour marathon Steve Irwin broadcast Animal Planet showed about him, his life, and his Zoo. He dedicated his life to animals, and he died in the hands of one. Well, the tail of one, to be exact, a Stingray. Being a fan, I want pay a visit to his zoo! See the animals, and remember him of the wonderful show host he was.



Wow, the list keeps getting longer! Yes! There's so much to do there! So much I want to do! Its unlike the usual travels i take. Its not like Bangkok, the shopping capital, or Genting, the gambling den. Its Aussie! The land down under, which we hear of people coming to tell us about their endless vineyards, wine at ridiculous prices, and the organic fruit sanctuaries, where you could pay a price, and grab a basket and grab as many fruits as you'd like, freshly off the trees. Have you heard about their farm stays too? You could wake up to freshly squeezed milk from the cow, and scrambled eggs that the hen just warmly laid.

Its so much for the nature lover like me! Tired of being cooped up in a tiny HDB room, facing the laptop day and night, and wanting to experience the wild side. ;)

Even if you're not too fond of the great outdoors, or got an arty farty side of you... Heading to Queensland will not bore you.. The scenic views of Brisbane, and its architecture behind it..
Skyline of Brisbane's CBD, and The Story Bridge.

Or head to the rather cheena looking Chinatown in Brisbane.. You don't get to see this in Singapore do you? Ancient Chinese architecture for the Arty Farty to appreciate!




C'mon! I've given you so much reasons why I want to go Queensland. Now would you please handover the tickets so I can go take my own pictures, so I wouldn't have to steal from other people's sites? And at the same time, take my wedding photos there?! It would make a nice honeymoon for our upcoming wedding, and adding it into our list of travels. We love exploring new lands, and I believe this adventure to explore the Outback, will serve as a wonderful memory to the both of us, and a superb honeymoon away from the crowd for the couple who loves to travel. I wonder how it feels like to wear a gown amongst the Kangaroos? And actually take photo with them... Will they box me? Kangas are known to box right?

I want to win this so badly! So I can proudly say that I've finally travelled out of the Asian continent. Hehe. It's always Bangkok & Genting cause they're most affordable. I want to go see my Sister's new house, and bring the 2 kids out to play... I miss them so much..

Let me win this! And i'll bring everyone on a walkbout trip around Aussie through my eyes..
I have a thousand things on my mind, and I want to be able to depart without a care in the world. =) [ http://www.australia.com/campaigns/walkabout/int/]
The spirit of Australia... Brought to u by Natx.


Credits:
1)http://www.ipa-australiapolice.com.au/states/queensland/images/design/queensland.jpg

2)http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/The-Windmill-1.JPG

3) http://www.greataussietravel.com.au/images/Gold%20Coast%201.jpg

4)http://www.totaltravel.com.au/guide/photos/nsuburbs/tqld_theme%20parks_drmwrld.jpg

5)http://blog.markdavisrules.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/tweety-296x300.jpg

6)http://www.variety.com/graphics/photos/weekend/play_seaworld.jpg

7)http://maryt.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/great-barrier-reef-turtle.jpg

8) http://www.australiazoo.com.au/australia_zoo/images/steve_tribute.jpg

9)http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Brisbane_CBDandSB.jpg

10) http://www.geocities.com/myungshin_go/travel/brisbane_chinatown.jpg

Busy busy.

Arghhh i have been so busy..

Have some stuff to update soon..

So sorry for the lack of posts..

My promises of my outcome of the Bioessence thingy will be coming up soon.. =)

Do check back!

The review of Bioessence Inchloss Series

Here's the talk about the 3 products from the Bioessence Inchloss series that I'm currently using.

You can easily find them at Watson's for a reasonable price. The price range is about $9.90 to $28.90 if i'm not wrong, for the full sized product. As you can see from the picture, the tube against the measuring tape, and you can roughly know the size of the tube. It can last you for quite some time, and average of 3 weeks as i've heard. If you apply regularly every morning and night. I've used it for around one week now, still got 2/3 of the tubes left.



A little background info on the products..


As from the box:

-Tone your body. Using bioheat active ingredients, which reduce the appearance of excess fats under the skin.

- Moisturise & Smoothes the skin. With rice extract and ginseng extract to nourish and soften the skin.

- Firms the tummy, thighs & arms.


My review:

1) The products smells damn good! I always use it in the room, and I put them in my clothes cupboard. Now every time I open my cupboard, the smell lingers there.. Its like a very sweet fruity smell. I love it! Aromatherapy while slimming! =)

2) The scrub is a little too fine for my liking. I have very thick skin lah! But i've found a solution that works very well. I'll be posting that up in the next post.. All my user friendly tips for these 3 products.. To get the most of your money and the maximum effectiveness.

3) My skin confirm smooth alot! This product really, really moisturises the skin. My skin is now like so smooth and bouncy, which i couldn't achieve from moisturising with Nivea or other drugstore moisturisers.

4) When I used the product on the first day, the heat factor shocked me. I was sweating profusely. And I felt my whole body burning.. I quickly turn on the fan to maximum speed and tried to cool myself down with ice water. The sensation lasted for an hour plus... And after that you can just feel some spots still heating, with a tingling feeling, for the next 3 hours. And for the rest of the day, when you sweat at a particular spot, it seems to reactivate the cream again, and you can feel the tingling and slight burning feeling.

However, no worries, cuz after you work out the right amount to use on yourself, and after the first day, you get used to the heat sensation, its nothing at all... In fact, it starts to feel great, especially when you feel your skin smoother, and your "other half" starts stroking your skin more often that he used to. *ziiipppppp* hahahahaha.... Its true lah! I keep touching my thighs cuz it feeeeelssss ssooooooo dammmmnnnnn smoooothhhhhh.. This I can't deny... And i believe having smoother skin, is also a driving factor for us to make sure we apply this hardworkingly.

I'm someone that can hardly remember to take my pills or supplements daily... But i apply this diligently, cuz it smells good, and knowing i'm gonna get smoother skin after each application... Why not man! Somemore can slim down at the same time. =)

5) Overall, i've used this product for 7 days. Been experimenting various ways of using it, and how to maximise it for the price that you pay. I've seen real life testimonials with this product... And i guess its about knowing how to maximise it while you're using it.

Regarding the testimonials... What happen was, the day after I joined this contest, i called my mum:

Me: Hey mama, I join this contest leh! Using Bioessense slimming product one. They gimme free one set to try, if got slim down most, can win prize one.

Mum: Then you join for what?

Me: I want to slim down lor. later try liao i telll you whether good or not ok? Then u decide whether you want to buy.

Mum: What's the name of the product?

Me: Bioessense Inchloss Range

Mum: The yellow greenish bottle one right?

Me: Yah.. you sure see before lah! Sell at Watsons one...

Mum: No lah! I using it already lah! My 2nd bottle already....

Me: WAT?! =.=|||*stunned silence* Why u never telll me!? Good or not?

Mum: 5th Aunt daughter use 3 bottle she now slim down so much! Her waist smaller than yours liao! (we're talking about someone that has given birth and put on alot of weight after birth)

Me: WHAT?! She use the products reallly slim so much ah!? I thought she look after kids until tired....

Mum: No lah! If really look after kids then slim down so much she early slim liao lah. Never wait until kid how old liao then slim.... We all see she so slim, we each person buy 2 set try liao.

Me: Ok lah. Then u tell me the results when u try. I waiting for promo and go buy 2 set for me and Aaron. You want me to buy more for u to stock up or not?

Mum: Ok lor. I call u tomorrow I ask them they want to buy or not.

-------- end of conversation.----------------

I was like WTF?! My mama also know got this product. I slow lah! Then she say its working for alll of them. My 4th, 5th, 6th aunt using, and their daughters too. My aunts and mum all have this thing about them. All follow my grandma body shape. So they're all pretty plus size. When they try a slimming product, and it works for one of them, the whole group of them start buying for themselves too.. Like herbal life? The person can hit her sales target just walking into my grandma's home when all the aunts around. That is, after my 4th aunt lost weight drinking their meal replacements.

After the conversation with my mum, i got pretty curious with the products... Of cuz everyone is skeptical about some stuff when you first buy them. But hey, lets just give it a try. No regrets! Not too costly and now its feeling good on my skin!

But mum said have to use 3 bottles plus then can see effect. Cuz they are still using it, after duno how many bottles.. And slowly seeing the effect..

Next post: My own measurements + user tips on how to maximise the use of this product to get its effectiveness!

How to be a loser?

So in my previous post I've decided to be a loser. Well, I wanted to be one all my life, but I suppose we need to plan out the process of how to be one? In this case, I need to be the biggest loser to actually win right? =)

How am I going to go about doing it?

First off, i'm gonna show u my new toys that are going to help me with it..



The green roll is a gigantic swiss roll that i'm planning on having a bite of everytime i have a sweet craving. =)

Yayaya.. Dream on.. Its an exercise mat which I bought from Watsons at their recent sale. I have a slanted backbone, it hurts me too much to lie on the floor to exercise. Plus, the floor is full of dog's hair now that Alfie rules the house and is running as fast as his eyes can see. (He cant see much with his hair covering his face.. hehe) I'll be using the mat for the toning exercises which I'll be planning for myself. Borrowed a couple of books from the library to guide myself into this.

Please note that you're reading a blog of someone who hasn't exercised properly in her life. I lied to my Secondary school teacher that I have menses every two weeks which lasted 1 1/2 weeks, and when i have them, it hurts too much to move. Do some maths, and u can guess how much exercise I done already. *guilty*

The 3 bottles of products are from the Bioessence Celebrity's Choice Inchloss series :


1) Body Scrub
2) Body Cream
3) Cellulite Treatment

No, i'm never a believer of not doing exercise and just applying cream will get you a super model body. But I do believe that applying products can enhance your process. We all know that losing weight and gaining weight has its pros and cons. You get a wonderful figure, but you also get stretch marks that are constant reminders that you were once a FATTY. I hate my stretch marks at my thighs which have grown to be more obvious these days from my sudden weight gain recently.

I've also went to the library and borrowed a book on Leslie Sansone's Walk at Home series. I'm not a fan of going out to jog, and sweat in front of the whole world, while everyone starts at my fats bobbing around while my boobs jump all over the place. I hate it! I feel uncomfortable especially when someone runs in the opposite direction as you and runs the whole stretch facing you! I get so self conscious. So I went around searching for something I can do from home. Thanks to the lady from Bioessence, Angie, she emailed me giving me encouraging guidance, and recomended me Leslie Sansone's DVD. I was in luck the other day when I went to the library and saw it, rented it immediately and read it to guide myself into exercising.

So with all these, I'm planning on:

- Applying the products day and night. (More on the products on the next post.)
- Cardio @ Home 30 mins.
- Toning exercises.. 1 set for abs, glutes, arms and thighs.. All my problem areas. Grrr..
- Reduce greediness on food intake. =(
-Get more active!

I've also discussed with Dearie, on helping me get more active. I'm planning to walk him to the MRT everyday, when he goes to work. Firstly to spend more time with him, 2ndly to get myself more active. Keeping myself busy, gets me active and reduces chances of feeling tired through the day. I've also chose to walk to MRT and back everyday instead of taking the usual feeder bus. On days whereby I don't need to take the MRT, I still just walk to MRT and do some shopping at CWP and walk back. In total, 4 trips x the distance of MRT to home back and forth. Its about 15mins walk each and I try to brisk walk to get my heart pumping and sweat it out.

With this, i've managed to keep myself from feeling sluggish and having the need to have a afternoon nap which I've made a habit out of.. Lets see how this plan goes!

Next post on the products, and my feedback... Been using it for 3 days already.. =D
Leave me some comments and help cheer me on to a healthy me ok? Or better still, share with me your success stories!

More updates on my step by step plan to my 2009 resolutions!

Why I want to be a Loser..

I mean come on! Every one wants to be a loser right!

Its one of the top resolution most people write on their resolution list.

#1. I WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT!

Guess what? Me too! No, i'm not the typical I-want-to-be-stick-thin woman that you see on the streets, or the hold-on-to-me-before-the-wind-blows-me-away woman. I don't really care about what i shove in my mouth, i eat whenever i am hungry, and sometimes, whenever my friends are hungry too. (That's why we have supper outings lor!) Ahemz. To those of you who've been calling me fatty natx, you all have to take some blame also k?! Especially those of you who eat supper with me... Grrrr... Like.. How the hell am i suppose to not eat when i see you gobbling down my favorite bites?!

For the facts and figures, for most of my life, my weight bounces from 48 to 50kg most of the time. Since secondary school days. Only some 2 - 3 years back, where sicknesses hit me all the time, and the recent 1 year ago operation, happen to dip my weight far back. At my thinnest, I was a 43kg. I had tonsillitis then, and my throat swelled so much, i was unable to put any food in. Not even porridge. Doctor advised me to eat ice cream and nothing else. I didn't know i was supposed to be in heaven or hell. Eating ice cream all day and all night seemed good. But.... I was only able to eat vanilla ice cream.. Which, after a few days became boring.

After 2 weeks, and mountains of ice cream, my throat improved. So did my figure. I dropped to 43kg. My waist was probably a 24 - 25inch then. I still had my little bulge of flab on my tummy but i was slim! Not healthy slim, but frail slim. If you get what i mean. As much as I hoped to maintain my figure then, I couldn't resist eating after my throat recovered. Being able to gobble every dish and taste everything again excited me. I hit every single buffet in town. Had Sakura - the Japanese buffet 3 times a week for that month. It was a celebration of recovery.

Two weeks, was all it took, to bring me back to where I started. 50kg. Over time, with stress and insomnia, my weight stayed around 45kg to 48kg. Till much recently, when bf went for 1 month trip to work, in Thailand.. I started learning how to cook, and learning how to bake. Food seemed to be a good companion while I read my books and stared at my laptop while finding recipes. I love reading, and can work through 3 plates of fried rice, and 2 scrambled eggs, 6 palm sized pork chops without realizing it.

He developed a drinking habit when he was there. Drinking every night. And he too, put on alot of weight. When he came back, he continued his drinking sessions, bringing me along with him. We went to Thai clubs, neighbourhood drinking joints. etc. Again, to celebrate him being back with me, he brought me out everyday, finding different places to dine each time...

To make up for the lost time we had while he was in Thailand, he made it up for it with a Phuket trip, which we booked really last minute, for just the 2 of us. We went there free and easy, so its like 6 days of SEAFOOD, FULL DAY BOOZE & TOM YUM SOUP. I thought i wouldn't put on much weight since we walked alot - shopping mah! And walking to roadside food.. =X We had like 5 meals a day there, not including the snacks from roadside stores, and those we bought back to hotel and eat.. Every morning we wake up we go for breakfast, and we head to the beach and noon and suntan... And the man just keeps selling us booze, which entitles us to a tanning bed on the beach..

No doubt when we came back, it seems to be either my clothes all shrink, or my body expanded in the sun... It seemed to be the latter. Then the following month in december, we went Genting and KL for a short holiday with Alvin again. Its like you have 2 choices: GAMBLE or EAT. We even bought maggi noodles back to hotel room in case we got hungry we eat at night. FYI, we bought 6 packets to standby at hotel room.. Haha.. that is, on top of the meals we eat outside already...

In addition to that, I have Low Blood Pressure. And I get frequent dizzy spells everytime my pressure goes low. So I tend to eat or crave for certain food when I get dizzy. And when i find the particular food i'm craving for, I'll shove 2 servings in mouth before I stop. And this keeps going on and on... Together with the regular suppers everyday now, and the Chinese New Year visiting recently, I've hit the highest i've ever been. 54kg.

I can't fit into all my skinny jeans now. Neither can I fit into some of my Tshirts. I just wear Dearie's Tees to cover up. So with my new found determination, i'm gonna embark on my slimming routine... Will share more on that on my later posts..

Are you with me? =D