L.O.V.E

A good friend reminded me from the beginning not to start a blog unless I had something meaningful to say :) So that got me inspired to chat a little on LOVE and plus Valentines Day just passed and being our first one in Brunei, we had to rethink how to celebrate it without the traditional commercialism of the occasion.

I personally felt it was no different to any other ordinary day when jin could surprise me with some flowers he picked from his backyard to brighten my room with. Flowers are flowers - they die within a week whether you pay good money for them or not. It's definitely the thought tat counts!

And romantic dinners....well there are really only 2-3 restaurants that we enjoy eating at (and allow you to bring wine) so once they become part of our weekly routines, it's hard to notice the difference b/w a normal dinner and a V-Day dinner :P

This really made me think! V Day was not necessarily abt how to celebrate with dinner / flowers / gifts etc, but a reminder to be thankful that love comes in other forms too....like making breakfast for me in bed, reminding me to take my vitamins, allowing me to choose which dvd to watch, praying for me when I'm tired or sick.... Jin's good at tat - looking to e cross, seeing the positives & believing in His abundant blessings in our lives!

Gong Xi Fa Cai

This weekend is Chinese New Year. And as it turns out, CNY is a pretty big deal to jin's family. There's been a lot of activity leading up to it; the house gets a thorough spring clean, new cushions on the sofa, front door has a fresh coat of paint, cars are washed & even the driveway gets a special jet-spray treatment.

Me, I'm not that keen on the many traditions. I honestly don't understand why one has to wear new clothes for CNY? But then again.... I bet most of my generation are clueless to the significance of this and simply take it as a great excuse to go shopping! hehe! The other part I'm not fond of anymore is the receiving of "ang pows". Call me crazy for not liking the idea of receiving money but I really do feel such an awkwardness & embarrassment about it. Maybe it's got something to do with me being in a foreign country, with a family tat's not my own.

So for the most part, I hope to survive the errrr "duties" of greeting strangers as they visit the house by rewarding myself with some quality DVD time. I have quite a few great titles to get thru....(with or without my bf haha!).

The pineapple tarts are essential of course!

Oh and I nearly forgot.... Happy Valentines Day! I got some gorgeous lillies from jin last night and heading off to "Deals" at the Sheraton for dinner tonight (yes we're celebrating early!).

Burgers anyone?

It's been nearly 12 months since I arrived on the island of Borneo and unfortunately I've not had much luck finding the food that I crave for. The lastest... I wanted to eat a really good burger! And unless you can be satisfied with McDonalds, there really ain't a lot of options here. So I resorted to learning from Jamie. The recipe was pretty straight forward and idiot proof. hehe! Not only am I picking up a couple of handy new skills in the kitchen....but I'm learning to do without some decent furniture tooooo. This is our new dining table featured below! Yes u observed correctly - no chairs.... just making do on our little cushy.

Being Health Conscious with REAL FOOD

Well since I started down the path of err semi-regular exercise and trying to keep fit, I thought I'd take a moment to tell ya about a new little cafe that's all about being healthy. It's called "Real Food" and they've created a small niche of dishing up organic food to the local Singaporean and expats alike. In the chaotic process of globalisation, I do believe the food we eat today ain't as natural as it used to be and especially having to import food all around the world to satisfy international tastebuds, it's not surprising that one has to inject their produce with all kinds of preservatives and chemicals to keep it from dying along the way.

Organic food is just about going back to its roots and keeping it pure. I love the idea of not having excess or additional additives in my food. I also love how my friend has created such a funky yet cozy little cafe to hang out at. oops... did I fail to mention tat at the beginning?! :P

Well yeah this is a mini tribute to a somewhat dream come true for her and her hubby. Their passion & vision to create a space where people can enjoy delish food that's also very good for u.... well i just happen to think tat's awesome! Plus we all know how hard it is to actually be doing something that you love and believe in...RIGHT?!?! It's way easier to sit in a cooL cafe dreaming about it. hehe!

The cafe is known for their very affordable brown rice set at only $6.80 (who said organic food had to be expensive?!?) but more important for me...is an all-day breakfast menu yipeeee! They serve banana blueberry French toast which is also $6.80 and they do an interesting & super healthy spin on the usual big breakfast - it's called the "all in a pan big breakfast" for less than $8 bucks! Bargain!

And once you've had your fill, you can check out the retail side of things and perhaps bring home some organic goodies! You just have to feel good...knowing that whatever you've just eaten or purchased ....is working its magic & promoting a healthier you :)

In addition to their menu, I had a rare treat (featured to the left here) home-made dessert from the chef who was experimenting & I was a willing guinea-pig. Who noes...it mite appear on the menu someday :)

I just wish they had this kinda thing in Brunei!

WHERE TO FIND "REAL FOOD" ?

Located in the basement of The Central in Clarke Quay. Opened daily. Enjoy!

My celebrity fashion Muse

So I gotta have something to work towards - to keep me motivated. And while doing my usual morning online surf, I decided that "something" wld be to adopt a celebrity fashion muse :P

Eva Longoria - petite yet great sense of style, pretty classic but sexy too. I like. Now to reorganise my wardrobe, clear out the unwanted clutter & bad choice purchases and make some effort to dress better with some Eva inspiration! Granted I'm not living in a glam city right now where fashion really matters but at the same time, it's just too easy to let myself go completely and wander around in items tat mite resemble a um... garbage bag?!? (ie comfy, big, oversized to hide my tummy wif no shape - eeks!)

So here's what I like so far....

Who says petite gals can't pull off a BIG gorgeous handbag?!? Also gotta remember e scarf is a great add-on to the otherwise simple jeans outfit.

Hmm...I just picked up a pair of new brown uggs in Beijing. Love them but don't think I can pull them off in such warm climates. I mean it doesn't exactly look very cold in this photo below...but surely my wearing ugg boots in 30+ degree temperatures wld make me look like a complete idiot...no?

And finally - the very trendy summer maxi dress. Obviously the fashion faux-pas to avoid long dresses for petite gals does NOT apply to Eva... nor me! I love maxi dresses...the easiest & most practical item in my wardrobe really.

My struggle with Fitness!

So I spent some of the afternoon researching & reading about core strengthening exercises on the internet. Having paid for a personal trainer once upon a time, I'm not gonna repeat that mistake again. Did u noe that most trainers in Asia have barely any qualifications in the first place? sheesh!

Anyway I think my biggest weakness in terms of fitness is the lack of core strength and regular lower back pain (even when I'm doing the dishes for 5mins). Also doesn't help that I've put on quite a bit of tummy fat ever since I got to Brunei and officially can't fit into 2 of my fave pair of jeans. Bugger!

The last few months of going to the gym have not produced any visible results as yet which is rather demoralizing. So hv decided to follow some of these workout advice based on my online research.

1. - Do cardio at different intensity levels - interval training.

1. - Do lots of Core Strengthening exercises as often as poss. like The Plank, The Bridge & Bird-Dog Balance (who comes up with these names?!?!?!) Does she (right) resemble a bird or dog in any way in tis position?

1. - Build muscle in arms & legs on alternate days.

This is an on-going battle to get fit for me. No matter how hard I try to hit the gym regularly, I never seem to enjoy the so-called benefits of say...sleeping better at nites, or gaining more energy in the day, or actually shedding some of tat body fat! So far....nothing.

But I guess for now, I'll just focus on understanding my body, locating my um deep abs (muscle tat gets neglected but is crucial to my whole core apparently)... and re-learning to use & control these muscles to strength my core and reduce back pain.

[check out tis article for more info: http://www.better-exercise-fitness-for-life.com/core-exercises.html#deep-muscle]

The body fat loss issue is secondary - having no back pain, a healthy heart and being more fit is more of the priority I'd say. Wouldn't u?

My struggle with Breakfast.

I have tried and tried...but I just can't seem to turn myself into a "Breakfast" person. Is there such a thing? You know... like a "Morning" person...which I'm not btw. I totally believe that some people are just naturally programmed to be morning people, waking up at an early hour and loving it. Me... I just jump at any opportunity to sleep in.

So yeah... not being a morning person probably doesn't help my breakfast cause either. Having not been very well trained as a kid to eat breakfast religiously, I am still struggling with it despite knowing how "important" this meal is (sucks tat it's e most important meal of the day really!).

And if that wasn't the hardest part, then it's finding healthy breakfast food that is an even bigger challenge. I tend to detest all the stuff that happens to be good for me.... oats, milk, soy, wholemeal anything, egg whites, cereal....etc.

Does anybody have any other suggestions for a healthy breakfast...EASY TO PREPARE meal?