Look, I’m dancing in the office!

I know I’m going to look like I have lost my mind doing this workout at the office gym. But when I have a kick ass body as a result, will I care care? No prizes for guessing.

Click her to go to the video

Merry christmas and happy new year!

If you’re on leave this week, how I envy thee. Why? Because yours truly has to work this week and the next. I may not be physically in the office but I am working from home, finishing official and unofficial (ie part-time/freelance) work as I almost always do.

I’ve been waking up early these past two days so that has helped. Again, I haven’t been able to tick off EVERY item on my to-do list but I have removed some. Something’s better than nothing, no?

But I can’t complain because I got to go out just now and do some Xmas shopping. Actually, shopping on Xmas day, more like. I got the bras I wanted – not La*Sen*za but Audrey and that’s ok. Three bras for under RM100 is alright, isn’t it?

I also got two more of that long-sleeved t-shirt from M*N*G that I love so much. They were only RM30 each. My husband bought one in green for me during ramadhan (they cost about RM50 then) and I love the colour and how it fits. It hangs just right. I was tempted to get another green one but I thought that’s be wasting money. So I got another two in dark purple and red. I read somewhere a long time ago that if you really, really like how a t-shirt fits your body, buy (as many) in different colours. After all, you know that you’ll wear them to death so it’s good investment and you’re not wasting your hard earned cash.

To think that I almost didn’t buy them because I couldn’t find them initially (because they were folded and placed under one of the counters. There were only two green tops left)! That’d be such a tragedy! (I sound like a fashion victim don’t I?) For the record, M*N*G is NOT my favourite brand simply because I normally cannot afford it *lol*

Besides, most of the items I have tried there fit horribly on me. That is why I love Message so much, especially the outlet in Sunway P. The store is never crowded and the sales assistant there always play my personal shopper. She’d bring in a gazillion items for me to try while I am in the dressing room. Makes me feel like a fashionista every time *lol*

Best of all, their stock changes rapidly, so one dress may be in the store for 3 weeks and gone after that. I have never bumped into someone who bought the same top as me yet. Come to think of it, I may not have blogged about this store yet. I really should.

Anyway, back at the ranch to the M*N*G tops, I would have paid for them and go back into the dressing room to change (into one of them) if not for the fact that I was wearing my pink asadi crocs :) (which matches the pink old navy t-shirt (from f*o*s) I was wearing). I have to be colour coordinated mah (or risk looking like a clown)?

But I kind of regret not buying another bra with the thick band just now. Why didn’t I, I wonder? Oh now I remember. I didn’t want to exceed my under RM100 budget. Besides, I can always go to the Audrey store in Shah Alam before the sale ends. Now I just have to jot down in my diary to visit the store BEFORE the sale ends.

Oklah. Enough of blogging and back to work. Think I’ll be sleeping early (9pm) again tonight for another early morning tomorrow. Later yo!

P/S: Random people have been visiting and commenting on my blog of late. Wonder why?

Home is where the heart is

Damn it, I couldn’t wake up early this morning! Oh well….

Today, I’ll be blogging about the new house, particularly our room :)

Located in Sect 2 in S.A, the house is currently under renovation. It’s quite massive because 90% of the windows are being changed – the old ones had arches on top of the windows which were too big and heavily tinted but not covered by curtains. I assume it can be quite scary at night because you can see outside from those arches.

One bedroom is being split into two because it’s too big and one kitchen wall which separates it from another room in the house is being torn down so as to join the dry kitchen and would-be dining area. My parents-in-law’s room will have a quite large walk-in wardrobe. Our room will have a very beautiful view of UiTM wtf. But seriously, the view is nice. And because the house behind is lower than ours, the second floor is very breezy. This is not confirmed yet but my husband and I may get our own walk-in wardrobe too. The room which was to be our toilet will be the walk-in wardrobe. Our toilet will be built somewhere else in the room.

That may mean that the lounge/tv/study area will be smaller. But because all other junks will be in the walk-in wardrobe, I suppose it won’t be so bad. I’m a little concerned about my magazine and book collection but guess they will be in the library – somewhere close to the kitchen or the family room. Not sure where yet. Could be placed in the lounge area upstairs too.

My guestimate is that the house will be ready in Feb 08. I’m looking forward to decorating the room, particularly but am dreading the packing up! Well, we’ll cross the bridge when we get there.

Here are some pictures of my room undergoing renovation:

View from balcony

Another view of the room from the balcony

Construction guy hard at work. He is standing where our bed will be

This is where the study/tv/lounge area will be

Raff in the toilet or walk-in wardrobe :P

This is the view which will greet us every morning, noon and night

Early riser

I was reading success stories about women who have managed to lose weight on shape.com website two days ago and found Sarah Robin’s story.

She says that part of her slimming success is rising at 4.30am daily to go to the gym. She said that by doing so, she can get home by 8am to help her kids go off to school. This is not the first time I have read about mothers waking up before anyone else in their house just so that they can have their “alone” time.

All these women say that waking up when it’s still dark outside is one of the best decisions they have ever made. One thing is for sure, these women can safely claim that they get so much done even other people get started. By getting things out of the way early, they have their evenings free. Isn’t that great?

I have occasionally been forced to wake up early. Usually because I have a deadline to meet. I dreaded the prospect of waking up that early but once I was awake, I find that I write best in the early morning when it’s really quiet. I almost never get a writing block when I’m writing at 5am because parts where I got stuck the night before seems to untangle itself after a few hours of sleep.

I’m already sold on the idea but knowing how easy it is to talk myself into going back to sleep at 4.55am, I did some reading on the subject of rising early. A website called Zen Habits explained it all in an article titled 10 benefits of being an early riser and baby steps to become one.

And so yesterday I thought I’d give it a try. I set the clock for 5am. 4.30am is too early for me, quite frankly. The alarm rang and I hit snooze. So I ended up getting up at my regular 7am :P
But I wasn’t about to give up. So I tried again this morning. Succes!

Granted, I didn’t get to tick off ALL of the items on my to-do list. But at least I managed to shot off some e-mails and finish the first draft of my story for next week. That’s a start right?
Granted, I was feeling drowsy again by 11am. But I allowed myself a break/treat and finished my Madonna storybook titled The Adventures of Abdi (yep, I got it for 30 per cent off at the Times Book store Warehouse Sale in Sect 13, PJ. I was so excited to find it. The illustration is beautiful but I still prefer Jehan’s book, Yakov and the Seven Thieves.

I bought five other novels by Anne Rule (The Stranger beside Me and If You Really Loved Me); Anita Shreve (Resistance); John Grisham (Bleachers) and Elizabeth Noble (The Reading Group). These are authors who I have never read before – yep, not even Grisham. These books may not the best from these authors but I wanted to challenge my literary sense to… different stimulants, if you like. I could have easily picked up Plum Syke’s Bergdorf Blondes but I’m tired of reading about rich women with unlimited budget for everything.

I spent about RM130 on all the books – which is a great deal and would have spent more if not for the assignment I had after that. Yeah, Jehan and I used out lunch break to shop for books.

If time and budget permits, I’d like to go again, maybe Sunday. I only covered a quarter of the sale – just the bargain area (between 30 and 90 per cent off). I’d really like to see if there are other Anita Shreve’s Light on Snow is there. The last I checked – MPH Bgsr Village 2 – only her latest book Body Surfing is available and in hardcover at that. Who has the $ to buy hard covers?

I think this entry is getting a little long. I shall save news about the development of the family’s currently-under-renovation home tonight or tomorrow (with pictures!) for next time. Watch this space!

Hiding a wild past

Xmas present from the mom-in-law from Italy (she came back this morning) *huge grin*

It’s called *gasp* Wild Past. The colour is kinda weird, I’ll have to admit, but that just means that I can distinguish my watch from the sea of blacks, silvers and golds.

I couldn’t find a picture for husband’s watch but it’s nice too. Although, I don’t know if he’ll be thrilled with the strap.

*Sigh* Now I’m dreaming of future Swatch watches. These are my fantasy watches:

*Perforated beauty*

*Glow shine*

Aren’t they just purdy?

P/S: Hardy Mirza as Asian Idol? Can you say Singapore’s Mawie?

Who will win?

I thought I’d do a running commentary on Asian Idol as I watch it right now, live, on 8TV (Malaysian channel).

Jac just performed. Although she sounded good (as she always does), I thought the performance was not up to expectation. It lacked that oomph. Paul Moss told this right to her face. And here, he kept it real with Hady Mirza as well – telling him that he’ll struggle vocal-wise against the others (ouch!). I think Paul aims to channel Simon Cowell tonight :P

I thought Hady Mirza’s song was nice but boring for such a competition. Personally, Jac chose the wrong song again. She has a knack for doing that in international competitions.

Okay, the Vietnamese Idol, Phuong Vy, is singing now. She looks good and she has a big voice, plus very high self-esteem. Is she any good? Not with song, I am afraid. Maybe it’s the wrong song choice. The song is too big for her and she’s drowning in her own voice. But, as I expected even before Phuong Vy opened her mouth that, Paul Moss has good things to say about her. He always has a soft spot for young girls of Chinese-descent.

And now Philippines Idol is singing this very dramatic Tagalog song. I love her makeup but not so much her dress. The sleeve is weird. I don’t think this song is doing her voice any justice either. It’s too 1980s Bintang RTM for me – right down to her dress! I wonder what Paul Moss has to say about Mau. Anu Malik is telling her that this is the first confident entrance by the contestant. Simon… oops I mean Paul told her that she didn’t see the magic that Mau is famous for in her youtube videos. He said her performance was too controlled and she didn’t let her voice soar – which I agree 100% with. Looks like Paul is the only judge who, in the words of Randy American Idol, “keeping it real”.

Indian Idol, Abijheet Sawant is singing Everything I Do (I Do It For You). It’s such a cliche song choice but with his voice, it is working (strangely enough). I think he’s quite smart for choosing this sing-along song, which Indonesian judge Adi Putra pointed out. It was boring, I’ll give Ken Lim (Spore Idol judge) that but it worked. I think Abijheet had just garnered himself a couple of hundreds more fans. Fans were singing along without being asked, so what does that tell you?

Next is Indonesian Idol, Mike Mohede. I can’t wait!
The Philippines judge said it all: Mike has a voice which can make people fall in love. His performance was pitchy here and there but overall, it was a good song, good performance. Mike an entertainer? Not so sure. But who cares eh?

Maureen is back on stage singing Reach by Gloria Estefan. She had just related her sad story growing up and how Idol changed her life for the better. I suppose all the Idols have their fair share of “sufferings”. I expected more from this girl but this song isn’t doing it for her either. Oh wait, she had just made it better. But it’s a little it late in the song isn’t it? I don’t know. I think it wasn’t enough.

And Miss Popular aka Vietnamese Idol is back singing a love song in her mother tongue. She really knows how to work her charm. I think she can make a good beauty pageant contestant. Notice how I’m not commenting on her singing? That says it all about her vocal prowess (or lack of). You know you didn’t do too well when the judge says you look beautiful to soften the blow of her next comment :P

Hardy Mirza sang U2’s song. He sounded alright. Of course Paul had to drum into his head, again, that he’s just an average singer :P

Jac’s performance came and went. It was good (typically Jac) but I think the Singapore judge made a very good observation about Jac not fully enjoying the experience of singing her winning song.

Abhijeet’s performance was interesting and I loved his adlib-ing. Very the Bollywood. And now Mike’s back on stage belting out I Believe I Can Fly. He sounds great with that voice and adlib-ing of his. But he’s not exactly Elliott Yamin. No one comes close to Elliott! Speaking of Elliott, Soul Patrol aka Do I Make You Proud guy Taylor Hicks is singing tomorrow. I wish it was Elliott instead! But I suppose it’d be too much for him to travel 3 times to this part of the world.

And that was it for Asian Idol. Tomorrow is the results show. Til then!

How can I forget…

to be blog about my 30-minute driving lesson a week ago!

One day, on the way back from work, my husband decided to surprise me with a short driving lesson. It really felt like a pop quiz! I thought I wasn’t prepared for it – heck I couldn’t remember which was the break paddle, clutch paddle and the acceleration (?) paddle. I wasn’t joking. After a short reintroduction, I was actually driving the car, going over road bumps, curves and all.

My husband got really frustrated when I was slow to pick up speed after each bump. What did he expect? It was my first lesson in, oh I don’t know, three years? He’s really impatient that way. I think, if he could, he’d want to take me straight to the roundabout or something :P

But I learned one useful tip. When slowing down for a bump, lower your gear and immediately go back to the previous gear after you pass the bump. I’m sure this is a no brainer for drivers out there *lol*

We circled that housing area something like 7 times before calling it a day. I’m sure he thought I sucked but I thought I did pretty decent. I mean, there were cars parked by the road side and there were cats playing outisde and I didn’t hit them! I think that’s an accomplishment, don’t you? :)

I was quite scared to start driving again but now I’m looking forward to my next lesson. It also feels good to know that my husband – who rarely lets anyone drive his car (not even his brother), actually trust me (this non-driver) with it. :)

Later!

Elliot Yamin live in KL – Wait For You

This is the performance which I missed, although I actually went to the concert. I arrived way too late. Elliott started singing at about Maghrib time. It was already 8.30pm when we (my husband, myself and his friend) got there :(

But at least we saw Shaggy and Whitney.

Berterabur

I can’t work miracles. I tried but it’s too taxing. But I’ll give my best shot nevertheless.

I’m translating two articles written in Bahasa Malaysia by a reporter for one of the Malay publications. My job would be a whole lot easier if the article is well-written in the first place. By well-written I mean the article is well researched and uses simple and clear language. The language used in this article is as berterabur as Malay language can get. I swear this person had translated an English article into BM and expect the article to be reverted back into English. Can ah like that?

If the article was written well, the author would have taken half of the number of pages to convey the same message :P

But she’s paying me per page so who am I to complain? I’m just concerned that whoever is reading the English version will think I am a lousy translator. But I’m merely translating it as it appears in BM!

Oh well, back to work!

Everyday makeup

Some time after raya, I ordered free samples of everyday minerals makeup of their website. I had first read about this Internet-only brand on michelle’s blog. When I checked youtube, at least three makeup enthusiasts had good things to say about the brand. So, I decided to try the product myself.

The only investment I had to make was pay USD5.99 for shipping/handling. After doing the conversion, I realised that it wouldn’t really hurt my purse to order the free samples online. Three weeks later, the package was on my office desk.

I received 5 small jars, each the size of 50 sen coins. The height is about a stack of RM1.80 or RM2 twenty cent (Malaysian) coins. They came stacked on top of each other and rolled up in brown paper inside a white average-sized envelope. The lid is brown and on it is written the name of the brand. The bottom of the jar is clear/plastic.

Btw, I get to pick three shades of foundation, one shade of concealer and one shade of blush for my sample kit.

I actually went to youtube to watch demos on how to apply mineral makeup. Mineral makeup looks and feels just like talcum powder, except that it comes in different hues. I discovered that it is best to apply mineral makeup using a big fluffy brush. You can get your cheap makeup brushes – foundation, concealer, eyeshadow and other brushes – for under RM100 per set from Elianto.

Get a deep lid, something like the lid for your loose powder (from Silkygirl or Maybelline) and tap the back of the jar to release the mineral makeup in small amounts. The jars have sifters so you have to tap the back of the jars with your finger to “release” the makeup.

Once you’ve tapped enough powder onto/into the lid, dip your makeup brush into the lid, tap off excess powder and apply to skin. If its powder concealer you’re applying, the motion you use is tapping or dabbing on the dark areas/blemishes. If it’s foundation that you’re applying, use circular, buffering motion all over your face. You also apply blusher in a circular motion to the apples of your cheeks – try smiling and notice the raised part of your cheeks; those are the apples of your cheeks.

My personal makeup routine is to first moisturise my face and neck with Olay Total Effects in SPF15. Then, I dab my cream Elianto concealer to my undereye circles and other spotty/blemished/dark areas such as under the lips, on the sides of my nostrils. I also apply concealer under/on the arch of my eyebrows and inner eye corner (near the bridge of the nose) to make them stand out. I’m really paranoid about my blemishes so after the cream concealer, I put on mineral concealer using the dabbing/tapping motion.

After I’m done with concealing, I apply my foundation. I mix two shades of foundation – tan and medium beige warm. Everyday minerals lets you choose three shades of foundations of different finishes (matte, semi-matte and intensive). I chose tan in semi-matte, medium beige warm in semi-matte and intensive. Frankly, tan is too dark for me. Medium beige summer is alright but can look light on me especially after I have applied the powder/cream concealer. So, I mix tan and medium beige summer to get a better a match for my skin tone.

After foundation, I apply two shades of blushes on top of each other. My blush colours are from Elianto. One if bronze and the other is pink/lavender. After blush, I put on Elianto’s RM5 eye shimmers on my eye lids and finish it off with a coat or two of mascara. And that’s it!

My routine takes about 10 minutes, I think. Friends have told me that the result looks professional. But I don’t know. I think I tend to have a heavy hand when applying makeup. So, I always make sure I have tissue to dab excess makeup off my face.

One thing I have noticed is that I have fewer acne since using Everyday Minerals. I didn’t really break out even when I was menstruating. Maybe because Everyday Mineral is made of minerals that are gentler on my skin and non-comedogenic. But always check for the ingredients to make sure that you’re not allergic to any of the minerals used. Everyday Mineral’s competitor brand is said to contain an ingredient that makes the skin itch. I won’t mention the name but that brand is available in Malaysia and the price is 2x more expensive.

I can get a basic set of Everyday Mineral makeup for RM150 (including shipping and handling). For that amount of money, I can only get one jar/bottle of foundation for this other brand. So, no prizes for guessing which brand I’m sticking to.

Let me remind you that the makeup I’m using is the sample kit. But, from the generous sample that they have given me, I think it will last me until February.

Now that I’ve been using Everyday Minerals for about two weeks, I can say that the makeup is long-lasting yet easy to wash off with your regular cleanser. It hasn’t caused me to break out (yet). My skin also looks dewy and my makeup look professional. I’m sure using the right brushes and techniques helps to achieve that professional look. I recommend that you search for makeup demos on youtube. I learned a lot from the professional and amateur makeup artistes. Most of them don’t believe in makeup routine that takes ages. So, they have come up with methods that help you get a professional finish and still get to work on time :P

I also like the product because it’s affordable, even when you’re earning in RM. The product becomes expensive AFTER shipping and handling. The range of colours are wide so there is bound to be one or two colours which suite your skin tone. The website also provide photos of the actual colour of the products so you can have a pretty good guestimate of what will suite you.

All in all, Everyday Minerals is worth checking out.