For the love of Shoes...

I used to have the love for shoes and never really was a bag person. But after my first designer bag, i became sort of hooked and stopped getting shoes for a while ( beacause designer bags aen't cheap, right?). Bought a few during trips that i seldom ever use anymore. I guess it's the hassle of having to change from one bag to another to match my outfit is what i don't have the patience for. I'd rather stick to a basic piece and have my shoes changed instead (it's a lot easier that way!) that is, until i discovered some sort of crackling sound of one knee, followed by some pain that got me checked in into a podiatry clinic one day.

The results weren't good but the remedy was even worse! I am NOT to wear regular shoes anymore and they had a pair of othortics made for me that day *cries. I don't mind the othortics, really. What bothered me was how much money i had to pay for it and the shoes! Running shoes?? Oh, come on! U don't expect me to wear running shoes everyday? When i'm NOT running or brisk walking?? That's Fugly! And it isn't just running shoes, of course. It has to have a certain characteristics to it. A hard part to protect the bone above the heels, a broad base and a suitable contour for my feet, among other things. In short, expensive! The brand Brooks  was recommended.

I calmed down a bit when the podiatrist finally said that i could bring some of my own shoes or find some other "special" shoes out there that fit the criteria and that they would fix the othortics. Of course i went for the cheaper option first and when none of them were right (but, of course -__-), i went to search for some decent looking casual ones, at least that are easy on my eyes and had found 2 mary janes from Foot Solutions that aren't so bad. The guy told me that my doc (are podiatrists considered doctors? Some say like chiropractors, they aren't) well, he is a bit particular than others and will only approve of one (which in my untrained eyes don't fit me that well) and he was right! It was a no-no!

I found a pair of Brooks selling at a discount by chance one day, and guess what? This time they aren't the right size to fit in the othortics and i couldn't return them! Man this was tiring! And then, i was introduced to this little miracle worker by my husband's cousin...

Fitflop!! They aren't the prettiest thing on earth but they are magic! I gave them a try but did not feel the difference immediately, i must admit. I read these benefits some people are singing praises for but i didn't immediately fall for it. But i decided to give it a go because with the price of ONE pair of "special" shoes, i could get 2-3 Fitflops! Only after the 3rd week of wearing them almost religiously do i began to feel an ease on the knees (with the help from going to reflexology too i guess). I no longer feel the pain after walking a distance as i did before. My condition was so bad before, it came to a point where i had to have a stool/a chair EVERYTIME i perform prayers! Now, not anymore! (InsyaAllah, touch wood!). I can perform solat like a normal person again! This has made me so happyand relieved because i cried at times not knowing if i was ever able to sujud normally again. (And i was very down thinking that i should have done my prayers more diligently when i was younger healthier.. *sniffs..). Mum said to make peace with the chair when i refused at first, ".. or at least until your condition gets better", my other half added. I guess this served me as a reminder. We sometimes don't appreciate what we have until we no longer have it and i am thankful to be reminded even in a painful way. Alhamdulillah :")

I don't know if the podiatrist will approve of this but i don't really care what he thinks anymore. I still have the othortics-uncut stored in my shoe room store room and i still wear my regular shoes occasionally but the Fitflop is my staple footwear now. Checkout Fitflop here.

I even think my bum is smaller now, if not tighter! :P I'm thinking of getting another one soon to achieve the model's bum. Haha.

** Oh, the other day, i was admiring one of my customer's shoes when suddenly my assistant shot me down with, "Akak, akak tu sakit lutut.....".   -____-    Such a killjoy!
*Disclaimer: This post is not an attempt to announce that i perform the solat. I am merely telling my experience, in case anybody is sensitive to the subject. You know who you are ;)

Getting life back on track

I have a problem juggling work and home. I'm swamped. Not just with the new job, but also from my post as the Honorary Secretary to the Mr. and our club, and of course being the Home Administrator too. After having done almost half on the list, I still have some complaints to get sorted, minutes of meetings  and some leasing agreements in my pile, and to put the house in order besides more crisis at work! I hate deadlines! Sigh. I'm already so exhausted thinking about it! Transition process is not easy! I pray for more hours in a day! :'( If they say any women can multitask, then i must be a man trapped in a woman's body.

I've been focusing on the store so much, i need to balance it with home and other stuff. Now that the major works at the store are finally done, i'm now left with waiting for the Unifi guys for 5Mbps speed of net browsing at work! Hooray! Goodbye lousy broadband! Some had told me to sign up for yes, but i need a land line for mobile cctv viewing. (Siti, if you're reading this by any chance, BEWARE! Muahaha!)

At home, i have been training myself to rise earliest possible and sleep as early as possible too, so that i can spend a few hours for laundry/scrubbing/dusting/organising or whatever that needs to be done before work to make the place more live-able and i have been quite successful so far. *Grins* The only thing left for me to do is, get my LIFE back! I've been neglecting myself. I've been skipping facials, swimming classes and even meals! I've lost 4 kilos since December. Needless to say it's so not healthy!!

But for a more current update, I have managed to keep my facial appointments-twice now and meeting friends for a social balance for starters (though, i admit, i have been late on most occasions), i have also been making time to catch up on reading as well. So there's progress. I just need to get my swimming slot back and find time to cook healthy meals! (..and complete the above-mentioned tasks. Ugh).

But C'est la vie. Everybody's busy with their own thing. So, can't complain, right? I just need to plan my time better and learn to take things easy (this is even harder!). Let's hope i can keep things the way i plan to and de-stress a bit. Do i hear Angel Spa calling?? I need to go make a phone call.

A very busy year end.

Wow, January is almost over. I have been super busy since the last post. Well, even before that, actually. Sampai demam2, it was crazy! Why people always assume being a housewife is easy, is beyond me. You have MORE social obligations you can't run away from.

My mother in law went for haj last October, so the Mr. and i played host before the send off. I was already running here and there for my December project. So, knowing that we don't have any help especially when it was a weekday and time is always an enemy, we catered for about 20 pax, but catered in the sense that we ordered food. So picking up, setting up, cleaning up and all was all basically DIY :"( (Thanks to Cik Lili who got herself busy as she arrived). The very next night was the time we welcomed  my lil nephew, baby Hazir into the world (wrote abt it in my last post). I went to sleep over at my brother's house to help look after my sad nephew whom the parents had to leave for the new arrival. Brought him to the hospital the next morning and helped my brother with his stuff the next day when the wife got discharged from the hospital. Penat being a host pun still tak hilang lagi...

Before sending off the mum-in-law, makan-makan at our place.
Not even a small picture can spare me the eyebags.... :'( 

 
Then i went for a hide-away (from life outdoors) to prepare cakes for 2 occasions. In which i received a phone call for order when i was asleep after the haj send off. MIL was called in about 1.30am. So by the time i reached home and done cleaning up, i slept about 3-4am. I remembered talking gibberish on the phone and finally offered a call back soon because i realised i was scaring my customer away. Hehehe.

I made a simpleThomas birthday cake as requested for the birthday boy to bring to school (but fyi to those who are not in the know, a simple cake does not mean simple to make. Just in case you are wondering WHY a simple cake can cost so much sometimes. Kalau tak percaya, i suggest you try make one. Yes, i sound annoyed don't i? Because that's the truth). And made another 50 cupcakes the day after for the party at home. Complicated lil cuppies that requires a head start on colouring, cutting, shaping and moulding. Days ahead. So you can imagine the lack of sleep and all. I never look good attending these birthday parties whenever i have to come with my own cake in my hands! lol (And i don't think i ever want to do this kind of cuppies ever again!! :'( Unless of course, someone would really want to pay for all the pain and hard work).

(But in between, i still manage to squeeze some time pegi Angel Spa ;) Wanted to write about it but haven't had the chance to. So this will have to wait).

After that came Raya Haji. Since the mum-in-law was away for haj, my hubbs being the eldest son suggested we had the makan2 pagi raya session at our place. It was our turn to spend raya with his family anyways. So we once again played host for the celebration but this time, yours truly did the cooking (of course). Thanks to mum and ayah for dropping by to offer help. You guys are the best!!! Oh yes, u too, Harris! :D I managed to get the kari ayam, kuah lodeh, sambal goreng, rendang daging, (ketupat plastic, no less :p, and lemang (beli) too) all ready on time! In fact, the cooking was all ready way ahead of schedule! An accomplishment for me. Tak pernah masak full course for a large pax on my own for pagi raya so far. This was a first for yours truly :) (Though i got some help but mainly things were done by myself la. Thanks again mum n ayah... i couldn't have done it without you!!! Well, can la tapi takla siap by 5pm! Hehehe ;) )

 Table all set in the morning of Aidiladha :D
Waiting for the guests....

Next came dad's birthday. I made him a cheese cake since i know how much he loves them. It was my first time attempting a cheese cake and i was quite surprised how simple it was to make! But the ingredients aren't cheap, though. Then, i was down with fever :( I can't remember for how long. But it was not very long before my next order that was long booked by the cousin. I had to forego the one before that, though-the quite last minute order for a friend. (Pix below). Because i still had to squeeze in time to go meet people for my December thing.. so ampun, babes. Tak larat. Hehehee.. Health comes first, considering our age now.. :P

Us sharing a tiramisu @ twentyone

Finally November was coming to an end. Made the 2-tiered Barney cake for the cousin's son 1st birthday for the 27th November party. She was getting nervous when she got to know that i was not well, worried that i might not get the baking done for her but all was well, alhamdulillah. Tee hee. Luckily she wanted an exact design of a Barney cake i've done in the past, so i was able to skip the head scratching part to think about designs to come up with. But just when i thought i have the remaining 3 days to breathe before December comes, the Mr. fell sick! Can you imagine that?!!

The one with the dialogue.. of a broken toe

It was 2 days ago. I was getting out of bed. I climbed to the foot of the bed and somehow the littlest toe of my right foot got caught in the gap between the mattress and the bed frame as the rest made it out of the bed. I think. It's either that, or that i accidentally folded and sat on it. I felt a sudden twinge. But being the clutz that i am, the pain was rather typical and i did not think that i had hurt myself seriously till i looked down on my foot. (That was after hubby asked, "why are you walking like that?" I casually said “Oh, kaki i tersangkut kat katil tadi..”)

Much to my horror and amazement, i saw the fifth toe sticking out pointing at 2 o’clock! In shock, i could not help but to burst into laughter! It was really funny! Painful, but really funny nevertheless. I swear if you look at it, you will hoot in disbelief too! (I have a pix taken while waiting for the doc but am not gonna post it since it looked too awful!) I pointed to hubby still in utter astonishment and he thought that i was pulling some kind of an acrobatic stunt, that i could do that naturally. Can u believe that? I then finally stopped laughing when suddenly it hit me. Is it broken? He stopped the chuckle too and we rushed to the clinic. I was then referred to the hospital.

I had officially broke my toe. It was after seeing the Ferrari & Liverpool avid supporter doctor who twice jabbed anaesthetic on each side of the toe and with a Bismillah pulled it with a small ‘ktak’ sound and an X-ray later that it was confirmed. (I sure hope it has nothing to do with hubby disclosing that he is a Mc Laren fan).

The conversation that took place in his clinic was as follows:

Doc: So what happened to you?

Clutz: I think my toe got dislocated or maybe it's broken.

Doc: Okay, let's have a look at it. Over here (pointing at the bed while making his way).

I carefully slipped off my slippers.

Doc: Boleh pakai slipper lagi?

Clutz: :) (tersengih)

Doc: Did you kick him? (suddenly he asked, referring to the hubby)

Clutz: What? Nooo! (How could i? That's derhaka ok)

Doc: Did he kick you then? (Lowering his voice now, followed by a laughter)

Clutz: Hahaha.. Takkk (Berani la buat)

Doc: So what happened?

I told him.

Doc: Hmm.. oklah i percaya that is the truth (Chaih)

Clutz: Well it is, trust me. (reassuring him though i cannot help laughing along because i too can't believe how it happened)

Doc: Ok i think i believe you (still laughing.. haha)

He said in most cases where ppl hurt especially their pinky more often than not, refuse to tell that they were involved in a fight. So that's why he asked.

The poor broken fellow is now tied to the guy next to him and will have to be bound together for 2 weeks to allow it to heel naturally. Two times a day, i need to put ice on it for 10 minutes or so. But i can walk fine. Not as good, but still, fine. Alhamdulillah, Thank God.

I still make it to my cousin’s engagement later that evening and my friend’s wedding yesterday afternoon though in slippers :)

Is this your paradise?

I was asked to give a hand at her video certification shoot by this part-time gym instructor friend of mine a couple of weeks ago. It was a 60-minute stint and to be honest, it was my first experience stepping into a fitness club, that day. Wow, was i impressed with the people working diligently on the machines to stay in shape. I must admit that it did made me feel like working harder on my body (from home), if not sign up for the classes at the club!

As much as being the health-conscious person that i am, i don't go to the gym. Don't get me wrong, not that i am fully contented with the way i look, nor i have anything against those who work out at the gym. (Trust me, i have nothing but envy and utter admiration against those who gets to go the gym for a better build especially earning $$ to boot).

I get lots of questions as to why am i not a member despite being a close friend to a gym instructor.
So here's why:1. i can't afford to be a member (i have other priorities on my list) especially now that i no longer attached to the company that subsidise the membership fee.
2. i was afraid that i'll be paying the fees but ended up not going or going only like once a month (because i'm shy? or just plain antisocial sometimes). So that would be a waste. And
3. i don't see going to the gym as the only way to stay healthy or get in shape. It helps, yes. But it's not the only means. Just imho.

So right now, i'll stick to my own weight-lifting routines (which i started since college days because i thought, i mean, i knew i was too skinny and wanted to -konon- improve my physique ;) - which i work at the convenience of my own time & pace if i may add) and the power walks that i do with my other half (when he's in the right mood) at our favourite park nearby - which reminds me, it has been a while now. I'll show you the next time because right now, i need to make a short run to the kitchen and put all that biceps and triceps (or whatever that is there) into whipping something up before he comes home. (Oh and plus, i now have a copy of the weight-lifting dvd, courtesy of the instructor friend :D)

In the mean time, stay healthy guys! Eat more veggie. That will help too ;)

p/s: in case if you're wondering, the title is given based on one of the tracks during the class.