One thing I like having a tripod is that I can take photo of myself. I just set the timer and then run and pose... I took this one outside our home before going out for dinner with friends.

My dream is to take a photo of my girl wearing equestrian apparel and riding a horse. But not too soon though. Maybe in her teen years. For now, it's just snapping whatever she's wearing.

I have downloaded another workout but I don't want to start until I finish the other program I have been doing. I actually started last week, but during the weekend, I took a break. So I had to re-start this week which was on Monday. I am not sure whether I would still count the days covered last week.

I was just going to watch the video by Jillian Michael's No More Trouble Zone. I want to know what types of exercises covered in this workout. Then my boy saw it and decided he wanted to do it too. And so, he did.



This amused Mommy couldn't help but take pictures of him doing the workout. He looked awkward almost all of the time... but he did some of the exercises properly. He is so getting grown up already. The next thing I know, I think he would already ask for iphone witj iphone accessories. LOL. Kids nowadays know so much about gadgets and stuff so it won't be a surprise. Would I give him at such a young age? Definitely not. I don't even have my own.

Anyways... back to my workout... I'm still on my 3rd day for my 2nd attempt to do the 30-day Shred workout by Jillian Michaels. So I have a long way to go.

Sleeping is a vital activity in our lives. Most of the time we have is spent awake and we need at least 6 hours to rejuvenate our cells and relax our minds. So we must sleep comfortably and soundly. Thus, our beds, pillows and blankets should be for our comfort. Before, a simple mat would do but now there should be foams or mattresses to make our beds softer and more sleep-able.

There are water beds, feather mattresses, mattresses from cotton and a lot more choices. In this age, there are only a handful of people who can sleep on hard floors without complaints. With the advent of mattresses come problems like allergy or oversleeping because of the comfortable bed. For those who are allergic, allergy mattress covers are available in stores everywhere. For those who oversleep, they need a louder and more effective alarm clock.

People are exposed to different hazards everyday because of their occupations or jobs since people do not have a choice because there is a need to provide food and money to the family. Not only are they exposed but their family members are also affected. An example of which is for those individuals who work in the presence of asbestos like mining or mills, not only do they inhale the asbestos dust which causes Mesothelioma but they unknowingly bring it to the household through their clothes.

Another hazardous job is window-wiping. People, through the help of scaffoldings, clean windows of high-rise buildings. Even simple night jobs are dangerous because of the kinds of people they meet to and from their workplace. They may be robbed, raped, or murdered in the middle of the night while earning money. We are surrounded by risks and dangers everywhere we turn and we can never be too careful. But then, we need to get on with our lives so we must think and act proactively.

I actually just posted about my sofa and how it needs to be fixed before it gets worse. Right now, I guess it's been 3 hours already since I've been waiting for the guys to come fix it. I really love our sofa. With a lot of people using contemporary or modern sofas, I thought I didn't have to follow the hype. The best house furniture are still those that are classic and have classic designs. I have said good bye to contemporary designs since we moved to this house.

I bought a new set of furniture last year. It was on sale so I could afford to buy it. They had office furniture on sale too but of course, I didn't need to have one. I work at home only. Now, with my new sofa set, I've been quite careful with it. I wouldn't allow my kids to jump or stand on it. I wanna use this set for a long time. But recently, I noticed that the sides started to tear a bit. Hubby called the furniture shop guys to come and fix it. I had been waiting for a couple of hours now and they haven't arrived yet. Hopefully, they will today. I am scared that the tear will become worse if I don't fix it now.

I took these shots on Father's day. The kids and I wanted to give the hubby a treat. Before leaving the house, we posed for a few shots. This is where tripods become helpful. Took the hubby to Manhattan Fish restaurant and had some flame-grilled fish and shrimps. We didn't get any personalized gift for him but the time spent on that day was priceless. We went to watch Karate Kid after dinner. Will have to talk more about the movie next time. :D

Now you know I'm really serious about getting thin. And I truly need to work harder on my tummy part. I kind of worry a little bit because I have been doing exercises for the past couple of months and I still have the bulge in my middle body part. And so, when I googled about this concern, I found a forum that explains about weak muscles and tummy fat. I checked mine and found I have both tummy fat and weak muscle. Weak muscle means I have a separated muscle which can only be "fixed" through surgery. Now, the question is whether I have the health savings account to fund for that surgery. But from what I read, if the gap between the muscles are finger-width size, regular exercises will do the trick. Let's see. I am giving myself another month.

With my quest to find out about diet pills and apidexin scam, I stumbled on this natural appetite suppressant that is found in the cactus (Hoodia Gordonii), the p57. Apparently, since its discovery to be the most effective natural way to suppress appetite, it has made its way to the hearts of the losers. The challenge now is to find the pure Hoodia. I have read that it is most effective at its capsule form.

Note: the image above is not the real hoodia gordonii I am talking about (it's a cactus from my garden). The real ones are only found in the desserts of South Africa.

Yup. I'm really serious in losing my extra pounds. The challenge for me is to stick to one program, hold on to it until I see results. Apparently, I keep changing... fad diets, hip hop abs exercise, pop pilates, and now that 30-day shred program by Jillian Michaels. I'll probably give a new diet pill a try too. What do you think? I guess I can find some that has natural ingredients that are safe and effective. Or maybe I stick to Jillian Michael's 30-day program first? Yesterday was my 5th day and I took a break today and will take another day break tomorrow.

Trying out my macro shot. :D This is my first entry for:

and

Macro Monday

Bougainvillea (pronounced /ˌbuːɡɨnˈvɪliə/)[1] is a genus of flowering plants native to South America from Brazil west to Peru and south to southern Argentina (Chubut Province).

They are thorny, woody vines growing anywhere from 1-12 meters tall, scrambling over other plants with their hooked thorns. The thorns are tipped with a black, waxy substance. They are evergreen where rainfall occurs all year, or deciduous if there is a dry season. The leaves are alternate, simple ovate-acuminate, 4-13 cm long and 2-6 cm broad. The actual flower of the plant is small and generally white, but each cluster of three flowers is surrounded by three or six bracts with the bright colors associated with the plant, including pink, magenta, purple, red, orange, white, or yellow. Bougainvillea glabra is sometimes referred to as "paper flower" because the bracts are thin and papery. The fruit is a narrow five-lobed achene. (source:wikipedia.org)

This is the first time that I really really feel tired after a holiday break with my family. And it's not even over yet. We still have to travel by train tomorrow to get back home. I guess it's because this trip is not plain break. We needed to do some work in between. Plus it's our first time to do this as a family. It was really fun to get our kids exposed to our work. I guess it's all worth the tiredness. We dun know when we can do this again. But I wanna do this regularly... like once a year.



Of course, we will still go for holiday breaks. My boy just asked me if we could go to a new place for our holiday next time. Guess this is where Branson vacation packages come in. Hmmm. I wish. But with him going to a primary school next year, I guess we can only afford a local holiday trip. But who knows. God is full of surprises. He might surprise us with a grand holiday to Branson next year. Who knows, right? Guess I have to wake up. I am dreaming again. LOL. Or maybe I am just tired. Hehehe. For now, it's good night. Ciao!

The Mokens, also known as the Sea Gypsies, are a tribe of maritime people who live in, and travel to, different islands and the littoral regions of the Andaman Sea. The Moken (around 3,000 people) maintain a somewhat semi-nomadic lifestyle. National boundaries are an unfamiliar concept to them and they travel extensively across the waters of Thailand and Myanmar.

We went to visit one of the islands where some of the Mokens have settled down. It's a bit saddening to see their situation. The place is so filthy as they still don't know how to clean up. We have teams going there to clean up and teach them how to clean up... but they eventually return to their normal habits after a few days. Health has been as issue with them. Although there are cheap health insurance, but no matter how cheap, they still cannot afford them. Or they are not entitled to it. Although they have settled down in the area, they still don't have their identities or citizenship.

I just posted about the 7-day fat burner program and amazed that you could actually lose in 7 days. But really what people need is just fat burners that really work, no matter how many days it takes. A couple of months ago, after trying a few fad diets, I decided to lose weight the hard way. Hard way means regular exercise and good food. But I feel like giving up doing it the hard way. I guess it's natural that we want an easier way, right? But then again, there's a saying that says easy to lose, easier to gain. And so, I need to continue on with my "hard way."

For now, it's a break for me. LOL!

Wow. I just found this 7 day fat burner extreme program and I was wondering: is this really possible? Like really? If so... it would be so amazing! Another thing to wonder is whether I would like to use the program? Maybe. Maybe not. I'm not that desperate to lose weight in 7 days. Am I? But it is so tempting. I would love to follow through this program (I mean see others do it) and see whether it works for them.

There are a lot of diet and exercise programs in youtube that show the day by day results. Some videos only show Day 1. Some videos show until day 120! And it is so amazing to see the results. Would I like to do a video of my program and show a day to day result? Lemme think about it, k?

I am so proud of my boy. He went for an acceptance test in one of our target schools for him for his primary education and he passed the test. We went for an interview after we got the result of the test. I am glad we sent him to Q-dees for his preparation for primary school. They got everything covered to pass the test to go into primary level.

Right now, I guess they have started practicing for their year-end concert. My boy is going to graduate from pre-school then. I am not sure whether they're all required to wear tuxedos but this I'm sure... no matter what my boy wears, he would still look handsome and smart.

I love my boy.

No matter how badly taken this photo is, he still looks handsome. :D

We went to the KTM station to buy our train tickets to Hatyai. But since it's school break, the tickets are sold out until June 12. So there's no way to go to Hatyai from Kuala Lumpur by train.

Next option is by buy. Our supposed schedule to go to Hatyai was on the 10th of June. But the tickets available only for June 11, in the morning. So we're taking a bus to Hatyai. I was told that we couldn't drive. That's the downside if you don't own the car you're car-sitting on. We could have found some cheap auto insurance but like I said, when we asked permission to use the car, we didn't hear anything from the owner. It would be hard to push for it. There's no blessing in it.

Sigh.

Anyways... I am excited to travel again. And so are my kids.

I changed my template on my other blog at expressions and thoughts and I thought of changing my template in this blog, our family story too. This is just a test. I may change my mind the next few days. Will see how my eyes can take the colorful design.

Crafting is fun if you enjoy cutting, designing and have patience to stick small things together. I love to do crafts and give them away. My favorite is making desk organizers made from Piknik cans. It is quite simple, all you need aside from tin can are papers, glue, box cutter, scissors and other trinkets and you are ready to make your own desk organizer. Clean the tin can first then cover it with paper. You can also cut shapes like butterflies or stars from the papers to stick into your tin can. Then stick buttons, threads or beads to the can to complete your design. Not only were you able to save money from do-it-yourself organizer but also helped the environment by recycling and reusing other materials that could otherwise contribute to pollution and environmental degradation.

My roommates and I had a pet hamster when we were in second year college. It was not exactly a pet because it was for a behavioral experiment in a psychology class of my roommate. But still, we loved that hamster and named him Humphreys after Dan Humphrey in Gossip Girl. Everyday we would let him run around the maze looking for its food. We fed it with different kinds of food like peanuts and fruits; we even tried chicken feeds and fish food. We found out that it likes peanuts the most. During the day of the presentation, the hamster did not perform well so my roommate was so angry that she threatened to kill the poor hamster. Since we all loved Humpreys, we gave it to another student. But Humphreys lived for only three months after we gave it away.