1 year on

Apologies for the absence as I was very caught up in many many things...

However busy my schedule, this entry is critical in my opinion as it marks my 1 year anniversary!

Yes, how time files :)
It was exactly 1 year ago when I first embarked on the wellness program and shed off 12kg in the end, improved my health tremendously, stabilized my BP, and till now, no rebound!

In fact some of my friends commented that I looked slimmer, and that's due to my body still reacting the changes even when I'm off the program (our body ain't a machine with an on-off switch) ;)

Friends on FB can easily track my progress and how I still embrace food (yeah.. check out my mobile uploads) and yet maintaining my figure.

For the benefit of others, pictures will be posted soon :)

The Great Reveal - 2009 resolution resolved ! :)

One of my toughest resolutions achieved finally !

Photos on left taken in March 2009, the photo on the right is taken in Nov 2009.

[Edited 22 Jan 2010] Rewinding back to a year ago, photos taken with my dear bro Garry, left (July 2008) and right (Dec 2009).

[End of Edit 22 Jan 2010]

Lost 11 kg, regained 10 years of my health, BP stabilized, no MC for more than 4 months!

Best of all, I feel great, energetic and the curves are just bonuses to me :)

Absolut Vodka

Received a gift from my good friend recently when she returned from her holiday trip in Phuket.
It was a limited edition Absolut Rock dressed in Studded Black Leather! A total opposite of my other Limited Edition Masquerade which wears a sequin suit.

Thrilled that I have one more bottle to add to my 8 years old collection.

I decided to mark it with a Photo to commemorate the day.

~ My Absolut Vodka Collection ~

The list includes (Left to Right):
Rock (Limited Ed)
Mandarin
Mango
Ruby Red
Citron
Raspberry
100
Pears
Apeach
Vanilla
Masquerade (Limited Ed)

Missing from the picture is another limited edition Absolut LevelZ which I gave to my relatives as a present (a bit regretting it now)...

Side-note: Most bottles are empty ;P

MMnST?? You have a blog??!!!

I was just sharing with my sis that I have a blog, and this was the conversation that ensued..

ME: [mumbling] gosh! i'm so behind my posts..
SIS: eh? what posts?
ME: my posts on my blog la, i just finished the september ones.. have 3 more october posts before i can update on grandma's birthday (which was yesterday) dinner.
SIS: [sniggers with her jaw dropped] YOU HAVE A BLOG???!!! (don't ask me how she does that, but she pulled it off)
ME: yeah.. on blogspot. nothing fanciful though..(my sis blog rocks!)
SIS: when you started? what's the name? wait.. lemme guess. is it "kappo", "arowana" ?
ME: inspired by mom's birthday when i started my health
management program.. nope, the name is actually an acronym, "MMnST"
SIS: ST as in your employer? wah..
ME: [flabbergasted] no, no, no... (i'm not such a loyal employee to use the name company i work in, but i believe i will get this lots when my colleagues know about my blog.)
ME: "MMnST" = makan, minum & small talk. and i have it linked to twitter too.
SIS: wow, you have twitter too? how do you do that
etc, etc...

Its not very significant, but i find the ramblings rather amusing :)

Grandma's Birthday Dinner Gathering at Forunate Restaurant

This is the night to remember...
A night where a 60-strong clan gathered to celebrate the birthday of their beloved mother, grandmother or great-grandmother at Fortunate Restaurant.

~ The Matriarch - my beloved Grandmother ~

~ 2nd Generation - the forever young (at heart) uncles and aunties ~

~ 3rd and 4th Generation - the once-naughty cousins and their offsprings ~

~ 'Sou Tao' aka Chinese Birthday Buns ~

~Shark's Fin Soup ~

~ Crispy Pekin Duck ~
~ Steamed Sea Bass ~
~ Squids in Batter and 'Ngor Hiong' ~

~ Poached Spinach with Mushrooms and Abalone Slices ~
~ Steamed Herbal Prawns ~

~ Fortunate Restaurant ~

The food was so-so for the 8-course chinese cuisine dinner (I guess they fare matter at their dim sum), but the atmosphere was electrifying.

Cloudy.. With A Chance of Meatballs

I left office today with an extra skip beat in my stride. Besides feeling very pleased with myself for being able to leave work while its still light, I am also going to watch Cloudy.. With A Chance of Meatballs in 3D, finally! I met one of my girlfriends for the movie and ribeye steak dinner at Aston's first.

The light breeze complementing my mood makes me smile, even the clouds look like meatballs amidst the slowly darkening blue sky.

~ Meatball Clouds ~

The movie is great, with loads of humour and puns which we enjoyed thoroughly. Not to mention some of Flint's inventions were something that I had thought of when I was a kid, invoking a sense of nostalgia... "monkey thought translator "! Ok, to be truthful it was an "animal thought translator".

What is it you say? Too good to be true? Bad reviews?
Well, I take reviews with a pinch of salt, so I AM NOT BOTHERED PAYING MORE FOR 3D ANIMATION. Hmmm.. ok to be fair, if I were really to find something to criticize about, it would be the weaker warm fuzzy feeling you get after watching a typical Disney animation.

In a nut-shell I would give it Cloudy.. With A Chance of Meatballs 4.5 / 5 thumbs-up.

Sakura Steamboat and Charcoal Grill at Marina Country Club

If you can smell me right now you would have guessed that I just came back from a BBQ session. Well, you are half correct, I just conquered Sakura Steamboat and Charcoal Grill at Marina Country Club !

This ain't no easy feat, Marina Country Club is situated pretty deep inside the Sengkang-Punggol estate and there's no direct public bus that goes there. Based on a colleague's observation of a little placard tied to one of those public bus stops touting of a shuttle bus service, the whole bunch of 7 gung-ho girls decided today shall be the day we're going for the Sakura meal.

Alas, when we reached the said bus stop in Sengkang, we couldn't find the placard and spent the next 20 futile minutes trying to keep a look out of a "shuttle bus" to Marina Country Club without even knowing where will it stop to pick up passengers nor its frequency. Several phone calls later, we managed to get the phone number of Sakura and found out the exact location to wait for the shuttle VAN (nope not even a mini-bus, but a 12 seater van). Finally! After being lost for almost 1 hour, we're on our way to our dinner, famished like we have not eaten for days.

* pardon the dark photos as the lighting conditions were definitely not optimum for my htc camera.

~ Sakura Steamboat and Charcoal Grill at Marina Country Club - tables near the entrance ~
~ Dinner - Seafood, Assorted Meats and Steamboat ingredients ~

~ Dessert - Chocolates, Puddings, Fruits and Ice-cream ~

At $26 per pax (inclusive of a $10 value-voucher for premium purchase), it is indeed a worthwhile experience.

Wide variety buffet spread with many types of greens, seasoned meats, thinly-sliced beef ala shabu shabu style, must-haves steamboat ingredients, huge choice seafood including live lobsters in tank (to be purchased using your voucher value) , and not forgetting a corner dedicated to desserts.

My only disgress is that the seating arrangements are very cramped, the poor ventilation takes away the joy of eating, and halfway through the meal, some of the girls were too uncomfortable and hot to carry on eating. Oh, not to mention that don't serve iced water. All beverages need to be bought using your $10 voucher value, but there's a wide choice available including your choice of alcoholic poison :)