.....times of refreshing.....

Oh yes.... I am back again! It's been 2 weeks since I didn't update my blog !! Well, if you are wondering where I am,  I am still very much around , work and rest as usual. I was also almost on a week leave, thanks to the Raya holidays where I could spent time with my family. Initially, we wanted to travel to KL but somehow the plan was cancelled and we stay put in JB and went around town. We almost visited all the malls in JB during this 1 week and most of the time, we left the house late and reached home late, and wake up the next day late too. hahaha...  I also never exercised for almost 1 week and that's really bad. I didn't really feel great, and that's normal for someone who workout 5 days a week. The feel good hormones are missing and I got headaches, by waking up late too. Thus, it was so refreshing when I managed a short run this evening and I feel great again. And, that's the wonder of exercise, it really regulate our mood! :)

Oh..during the holidays, we were at Johor Premium Outlets and it was pretty crowded due to the Raya sales.

The highway from below looks awesome .. and my little princess wanted to snap a pic here.

While we were waiting for  mommy to finish her shopping ...

 We also went to Kluang for a day trip, after never been there for almost 2 years. The place looks so clean now and I noticed there are lot of graffiti paintings around the old town. I only managed to snap two pics since it's difficult to stop the car by the roadside.



Not to mentioned we also shopped at KSL city, Sutera Mall, Aeon Malls and etc , but end up my kids who are the happiest. They bought the most stuffs. LOL We also checked out some tours for year-end but too bad, I gotta wait for the Matta Fair in end-July for some good bargains as well as tours. There are not many tours now and most of them are expensive.

Oh.. we also patronised Anmour Restaurant again and enjoyed some western food!

Fish and chips for my little princesss

Beef fillet for me, with Aglio Olio and mashed potato

A twin but small double burger for wifey

And seafood pasta for my kid

Not fotgetting my cuppa of long black...

Have a good week!

Raw and cooked salmon sushi

Sake maki sushi - My fav

Tobiko Sushi for my kids .. they love it

My wifey order a california maki sushi ...

A Teriyaki Salmon for my kids to share

I had a healthy Salmon Shioyaki set

And a simple Kake Udon for my wifey

Have a good week, folks!

1. Not a good day for me yesterday as I dropped my key poach in the bus. It only contains some coins which I don't mind losing but without the keys, it was very inconvenient. I checked with the 'lost and found' section of the bus interchange but they didn't collect any key poach, except other keys. Then, after a badminton session in town at night, I waited almost for an hour for cabs in Little India and really got furious as all the cabs reluctant to take me citing they were going for dinner. These were lies as they preferred to fetch customers nearby in order to earn more. I thought of filing complaints against these errant cabs as they cannot choose their destinations. I ended up taking a bus home.

2. The CNY holidays are around the corner and today is the last day of work for me before I go for a week break to balik kampung. I am looking forward to the break but then, it has been a tough week and I guess I may have to bring my notebook home to work. Work is really piling up!! Anyway, glad it's weekend and I can wind down a bit.

3. Been consistently running especially in the morning. Woke up around 7am and did various distance of runs in 5KM, 6.5KM, 8KM and 10KM runs at different routes.  I am actually trying to train for a half marathon and go for it in the second half of the year and it seems very tough, though I managed to complete 10KM. I will see how it goes but for sure, running really requires discipline. hahha... Good thing is I have clocked almost 30KM weekly nowadays, which is my best so far.

4. I am back for badminton and am in my company's team for the annual Public Service tournament. Anyway, this year I will be playing as a reserve since I am not match fit after a layoff from my injury. Had a good warm up session with the folks yesterday before the first match, which we narrowly lost 1-2. This is the yearly badminton tournament I participated and it was fun!

5. Since it was cooling and breezy in the south lately, my family and I decided to have steamboat for dinner. It was quite comforting with hot soup and ingredients in the cool evenings.

The ingredients for 3 adults and 2 small kids

Side order - thin bacon slices

Noodles

Side order -My favourite mushrooms

Side order - Small fried fish

Adding the ingredients in ....

Have a good weekend and happy last minute shopping!:)

1.  I thought running a 10KM marathon last Sunday and working out regularly makes me an Iron Man. I was wrong as nature dealt me a gentle blow where I was down with a mild flu over the weekend. Anyway, feeling better now and managed to ran a short 3KM on a beautiful and breezy Sunday evening.

2.  I was asked to act in a skit by my Christian boss in my company's Christmas gathering... alamak... I am a shy guy and can't even act. but now I am asked to be a shepherd in a Christmas story where I need to utter a few lines. Oh no ... :P

3. On running, like those avid runners, I thought of planning my runs for 2015. I was not certain if I can do a half-marathon in the short period of time like March or April but my colleague seems all set to go for half or full marathon. Aiyo... why so ambitious ? It's ok...I guess I go for some 10KM runs before I go for the half-marathon. hahha.... Probably, I plan for the first 6 months and decide on the other 6 months. hahaha... I am talking like a runner now. :D

4. Vacation has started and I will blogged about the places I went when I am back. Except KL where my kids wanted to visit Kidzania, we will adopt a wait and see attitude on where to go after that. Anyway, definitely will be driving to somewhere after KL. Somehow, I was always in the city every Xmas except last year.

5. Woke up early on last Sunday morning to attend church services at 8am after I skipped last week's services. I am glad to be back as well as seeing my Pastor, who was away too for his leaves. The Sunday service served as a backup service for me if I was unable to attend the main Saturday service. Anyway, there will be no more Sunday morning services in 2015 and I have to attend another church if I missed the Saturday's service. On the other hand, I think it's good they scrap the Sunday service since attendance is very low.

Meanwhile, had a ginger onion fried beef with rice on a cold Saturday night, with hot soup. What a relieve for my mild flu.:)


Have a good week!

1. Since the iPhone 6 was launched in Singapore in September, I always wanted to get one for my wifey as her older iPhone 4S, which she used for almost 4 years, is calling it a day. However, I am only eligible to recontract my line in November and since 1 November, I have been trying hard to check out the stocks at the local telco but the phones were always out of stocks. I continued to try for weeks till yesterday where I finally got it, and lucky too where I got the second last set. I cannot choose the colour as there's only silver left but then , silver looks good to me. Somehow, I preferred the smaller iPhone 6 than 6+ as I felt the latter is too big. My wifey too, she loves a smaller phone and I am glad I got this for her.

Still in the box and wrapped

2. I was at Orchard Road again today for my medical screening and managed to catch a glimpse of the Xmas street decors. Somehow, it doesn't look impressive to me but maybe it looks great at night when they lit up the lights. I only check out a portion of Orchard Road.

Orchard Road

The pathway leading to Paragon mall

Ngee Ann City at the opposite

A Xmas tree at Paragon

Another decor at the outside of Paragon

Tang's decor at the entrance

 3. I guess I am not going overseas for my year end vacation due to the peak season but will try to book early next year for cheaper options. Anyway, planning to take leaves in Dec and almost deciding my vacation plans. haha... It seems so difficult for me to decide this year, probably due to some distractions like my kid's compulsory 2 weeks tuition at his school, where I was informed last minute.

4. It was a relaxing afternoon after my medical screening as I went to coffee club in Wisma Atria for some bites before heading to the gym. I love the slice raspberry cake and cappuccino. I chose this place because it was less crowded and thus I can wind down after my medical tests, which was a staffs' benefit from my company. Glad that my ECG, Tonometry, Chest X-ray and prostate scan are fine, I am still awaiting for my blood test report, which was done 2 weeks ago.

The cake really looks good and delicious

First time at Coffee Club and find that their coffee is good.

It's Friday again and wish you guys a great and relaxing weekend! :)

A decor at Orchard Central

Another one at Orchard Central too, which is besides Orchard Gateway

2. Somehow I felt a bit anxious about a potential vacation in a nearby country and kept asking my wifey if her sister has already booked it for us in JB, and I got an earful from my wifey... hahaha...  Too bad, she's in Singapore and I probably gotta wait for the weekend to confirm the trip. My SIL is a well-travelled lady and she's got a lot of 'lobangs' (contacts). If else, my plan B would be in Malaysia, probably go back to Ipoh and bring my parents to Cameron Highlands for a 3 day 2 nights stay or Pangkor Island. It's been a while since I have been there.

3. I have been  training for my 10km Standard Chartered Quarter-marathon lately after my weights workout. It will be held in 2 weeks time. My training is simple, I just continue to run 5KM as usual daily but may  increase slightly to 6km if possible. I will try to run in the morning from now onwards in order to get use to the morning marathon and that will be a challenge to me as I am not a morning person. Waking up at 6am or even 7am can be tough, thanks to my teleworking where I am not required to be in office all the time.

With all these trainings, I think there's no harm to reward myself with a Shokado Wazen Bento, which is my favourite and affordable bento at S$15.90. :) I think it's ok la...once in a blue moon ... :P


And, weekend is here with the school holidays! Have a good weekend!!

There was this day which I left company early after an event and seeing that I was in Plaza Singapura, I decided to go around to shop. And, somehow, I managed to get most of the stuffs here which I had problems finding it for weeks. Well, I finally got a Frozen toy for my little princess which consists of the two dolls, Elsa and Anna, in one pack. It was not easy to get toys from movies that has already been shown long ago.  Then, I went to World of Sports and got a Nike water bottle for my kid where he was nagging me to buy for him when he was in Singapore during the Deepavali week. I finally give in ...haha... though I know he has a few water bottles. He doesn't need another one! Well, it's always easier to get the daddy to buy stuffs rather than the mom too.

Then, I came across Pandora and I thought it's a good idea to get my wifey a gift. Somehow, I didn't give her any birthday gift last month and I always wanted to get this Pandora bracelet for her. It cost me S$433 and it only came with three beads. Well, I guess let's start with the basics first, let her add the beads later. hahaha...


That sums up my shopping evening... and oh yeah, I didn't get anything for myself. But I do feel good in getting gifts for my love ones. Very therapeutic! :)

1. I was surprise and delighted to see so many Doraemons at City Square Mall in JB. I was actually coming home from SG and while going to Dragon-I to pack some fried rice and noodles, I saw the exhibition from the third floor. I guess it's a paid exhibition. Anyway, don't think will be going there since my family and I are not really fans of this little blue cute character.




2. Though the mooncake festival is over, the celebration seem still on-going. My little princess kindy going to have the celebration tonight while I got some biscuits which were made from the mooncake ingredients (same as those animal biscuits that sold during the festival). There were kuaci  (sunflower seeds) inside there and it's not too sweet. I like it. And, its home-made too.



3. Phew ....  I finally managed to catch Guardians of the Galaxy before the curtains down. I caught an 8pm movie after work and a quick workout at the gym. I actually left office early at 5pm and confined myself to an hour's workout. The show was good but I am more interested in following the continuation of  the Marvel superheroes' storylines which has links to this movie. Afterall, I am a superheroes' movies fan! The cinema was quiet and even though I am alone, it was a great! I almost had the entire cinema for myself ,together with my pop-corn and coke. Next, maybe I will catch Lucy two weeks later.

4. It will certainly be a busy next week for me as I am in my company's Dinner and Dance organising committee. The event will be held next week. I am sure there'll be  lots of pressure from the organising committee. However, looking forward to some planned off-days after the event to wind down and phewww........ Looking forward to the off-days!!!



Have a good weekend!

1. I have been working out consistently from Sunday to Thursday lately, where I usually ran 3KM on Sundays and I workouts at the gym on Mon, Tue and Thurs. Wed was reserved for badminton and I am loving all these physical activities though my tummy is not flatten yet with 6 small parts. :P Somehow I can't sleep well if I don't exercise and I worked better the next day after sweating it out. Thought of trying out running long distance but somehow I am too lazy for it. Will have to consult Lina and her hubby for advice....hehehe...

2. My kid was having his second term exam this week, but I have already make plans for this weekend when his exam is over on Thursday. Of course no grand plans since its still school days but I really hope can bring them around this weekend. How nice if our Legoland memberships are not yet expired, at least we can have some fun there.

3. My Amway upline got me a replacement meal drink and asked me to try it but warned me not to eat after that else I will gained weight like nobody business. hahah... OK, it's called Positrim but he mixed it with Amway's Protein Powder, a fibre supplement and lecithin-E. He told me it's not really to lost weight though it helps a lot but more of giving me the nutritions for the day.

4. Since it is the 7th month, most of the folks were burning paper offerings at nights. Thus, I have to close my window all  the time in SG and on the air-cond., though it's been raining almost daily. And, there were lots of getai around where I can hear the echo of the singing though I don't know where is the location...hahaha...

5 Meanwhile, after a workout tonight and with most of the food-courts closed including my favourite Japanese restaurants, I decided to check in to Pastamania which closed very late. I ordered a Turkey bacon Aglio Olio with mushroom soup. Love the warm soup since its a cool night.

Mushroom soup

Turkey Bacon Aglio Olio

Have a great mid-week folks!

1. I have been getting much and much better after being struck down by the influenza virus which left feeling so terrible over the last weekend where I spent almost the weekend in bed. Well, I am back to my exercises as I really needed to sweat in order to feel good, but then, I only did light workouts on Monday and Tuesday and played an hour of badminton yesterday evening. I also supplement myself with 1000mg of Vitamin C daily.

2. I blogged about the disposable cleansing wipes for lens, eyeglasses, camera, tablets and etc back in April (link). My generous colleague got me this famous lens-maker brand, Zeiss, cleaning wipes. At S$10, there were about 50 pieces in the box. I tried using it and the pungent smell of alcohol was lesser compared to the brand that I am using while the effects are more or less the same.

Zeiss cleaning wipes for lenses

3. I was watching World Cup matches almost daily at 12am before I sleep and at 7.30am after I have just wake up but haven't wash up yet. Most of the time, I will just watched the first half in the evening and then, for the morning matches, I will go for the second half. The timing are just right! Lunches and tea breaks with colleagues are also about football. Am I 'eat' football, 'sleep' football  now ?

Breakfast at Subway

4. I try to have nutritious breakfast and good coffee after the matches so that I am fresh and alert for the day.  I had a Subway sandwich on Tuesday morning and two half boiled eggs with toasts yesterday. :)

I will be on leave tomorrow to bring my kids out for a nice day out. Have a good weekend! :)

Though to most of the runners or marathon runners, the below reading should be considered slow, I never felt so good in achieving my 'personal best' so far since I started running longer than 20 minutes. I started the 5KM run quite slow initially, finished around 50 mins. Then, it got better and better as I finished the run in 48 mins, 46 mins and now 44 mins. Woah ... I felt so accomplished and good after the run. I hope I can get better than this but then, I also don't want to over-stress myself. Just enjoy it!


After the run, I decided to reward myself with a high calories McD meal. :P Good to replenish ...hehehe...


Have a good weekend  :)

I posted a blog last week that  I have entered a photo contest for photos taken at a certain organic park. Yesterday, the park emailed me that my picture has been shortlisted for the photo contest. I was both excited and frustrated. Why I felt frustrated is because the contest is based on the no.of likes in facebook for the photo instead of neutral judging by a panel. With that, instead of quitting, I thought I give it a try for the first few days by soliciting votes on fb and see how it goes, as I heard a lot of bad experiences with this method of voting process.

Thus, see if you can help it increase by vote count. Just do it by clicking on this link and like the picture. Secondly, like this page, Zenxin Organic Park page on facebook too. (You can removed it after 15 July if you want ... LOL).

Thanks for supporting ! :)

When I was in Zenxin Organic Park two weeks ago, I saw a poster on a photo contest where they will choose winners of pictures taken at the park. Since I brought my DSLR, I decided to give it a try and took as many photos as I can, so that I can pick a good one for the contest. After running through  the pictures, somehow I decided to enter this picture for it. I felt it's very natural and relax, as well as contained the spontaneity of a little child. Thus, hopefully it can win me something, though the prizes are not that attractive compared to other photo contests but then, it's just for fun. What do you think? I have already submitted my entry.

Since it was the school holidays, I fulfilled my promise to my kid to bring him and his sis to JB's two biggest kiddy friendly theme parks (again), Legoland and Little Big Club on last Friday and Saturday. Well, glad to see his happy and delighted face while leaving for the theme parks. I can't blame him cos he had a tough schooling and tuition period. Well, nowadays, the kids were really poor thing, unlike my time, where study or no study during primary school doesn't really matter....hahaha... It  was quite tiring, as my wifey and I spent almost two full days walking around at the theme park. These were really lots of exercise for us!

 

Had a rendang nasi lemak first before leaving.... this lunch packs lots of energy and cholesterol and uric acid....etc.. :P

Reach Little Big Club in Nusajaya and pose with Chicken barn  at Lat's gallery

One of the rides at Little Big Club ..my little princess's favourite! As for me, I am lucky I  don't need Panadol to counter the 'dizziness'

Reminds me of my childhood....

Watched Barney and friends live....

Playing pingu sliding game

 It was a crowded Legoland the next day compare to the Little Big Club where there were almost no queues for all the rides. We even repeat our rides at Little Big Club but it was a different story at Legoland. There were lots of tourists of different nationalities and it was long queue everywhere. I still prefers going on a normal weekend unlike the school holidays.

His favourite ride!

Miniland ..... up and below

The just 'completed' Menara Maybank...

Posing with a Lego-man...

With an annual pass, my kid will be going again with his mom while I at work next week. And, I guess he can enjoy more rides with lesser folks as Singapore is not on school holidays yet. :)