Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Dad's Birthday!

This morning I headed to the doctor to have them look at the infection on my leg again. I was a bit worried that my ankle and foot had now started to swell. I was called into a consultation room by an intern and once we got chatting, I realised that she was Malaysian. Her family live in Bangsar although she has lived in Aus for 7 years - small world!

She called a doctor in to take a look and he told me that my current antibiotics are probably doing the job and my body is starting to take over the recovery but just in case, they will take a swab of the pussy bits and send it off to the lab to see if the bug is resistant to my current antibiotics. If so, they will prescribe me a different type when I call back on Friday for the results.

I must admit that my leg is looking better. The pustules are now mainly scabs and are on their way to healing but my main concern is scarring so I think I will try and find some anti-scar cream tomorrow.

From the doctor I drove over to Kate's place to meet up for some shopping. She wasn't quite ready so I helped myself to some breakfast while she dried her hair. We drove down to Burnside Village and walked straight into one of my favourite little boutiques. I walked out of there with 2 tops and 2 pairs of earrings! Kate wanted to buy some more shoes seeing as Whistler the guide dog puppy had chewed up a few of hers. We looked in a few shoe stores and I walked out with a pair of flat black "ballet" shoes but they were made of fine mesh and so comfortable I thought they would be great for KL. Kate picked up a pair of pale gold sandals and some pink slip on shoes. In another store, I found the most comfortable slip on sandals in a white and tan colour. Kind of like Birkenstocks I guess. I figure they will be good for walking around KL.

From shoes we headed to Peter Alexander to look at PJs. I wanted to buy some slippers for Dad's place and I also found a great pair of PJ pants with wide legs in pink and aqua stripes and a matching racer back tank top.

After all our shopping, it was time to go and pick Luke up from tennis. We grabbed him and headed back to Burnside Village for lunch. We had sushi and a coffee before doing a quick bit more shopping - I needed to get a card and cake for Dad's birthday. I ended up buying a little apple pie - yum!

I dropped Kate and Luke off at home and drove over to the Tower Hotel to meet Dad and his mate. I couldn't find him in the pub and when I rang he was just leaving the carpark! So I pretty much followed him home.

We spent the afternoon relaxing. Dad had a nap while I messed about on the computer trying to get his iTunes up to date and catching up on my blog. About 6 we headed out to the Maylands pub for a drink and dinner. Stan and Kate had taken me to this hotel last time I was in town. It has been beautifully renovated and we enjoyed a beer at the front bar before heading to the dining room.

We ordered a glass of wine each and our meals. When they came they were huge! I had lamb mignon with roast potatoes and dad had veal scallopine in a white wine and cream sauce. I ate as much as I could but I still had a half fillet of lamb left which I asked to take home. We ordered some coffees and chatted for a while before heading home about 8.30. It was a really nice night and great food!

At home, I stayed up for about half an hour before heading to bed - I was exhausted!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Settling in

I didn't do too much today. I slept in and relaxed until about 11 and then Dad and I headed over to Norwood Parade to do some shopping. I picked up a book - Mao's Last Dancer - and Norton 360 software for the computer while Dad bought a cover for his new iPod. We had a coffee and I gave Kate a call to see if she was home.

We drove around to Kate's place and was met at the door by Luke, Jessie to Cavoodle and Whistler the Guide Dog puppy (see photo). It was quite the welcome wagon! We had a cup of tea and caught up with Kate's news. She had also helped me to book an appointment with a Naturopath so we looked through the information that they had sent her. Kate told us about Whistler and that she was looking after him for a month or so as his handler had broken his ankle. Although only 8 months old he is huge! Once he turns one he will be off to puppy school 5 days a week for 6 months to see if he can make the grade to become a guide dog. Kate takes him to shopping centers, parks etc with a mock harness and his guide dog jacket and she said that as soon as he has that on, he is such a well behaved dog. Without it, he is just a huge dopy puppy! He has already destroyed a few pairs of Kate's shoes and chewed the dining room table leg. But he is beautiful!

After leaving Kate's place we headed home, had some lunch and headed out again to get dad a new car remote contol for the doors and I wanted to pick up a few things. After a quick stop at Dick Smith's we headed to Tea Tree Plaza so I could get some vitamins and bits and pieces. We picked up some shopping on the way out and then drove home.

We had salad and prawns for dinner and chatted for ages. It was really nice to spend time with Dad. He is clearly enjoying the thought of his retirement so it is nice to see. We watched a DVD before heading to bed. I hadn't spoken to Ross all day so we chatted for an hour before I finally got to sleep at midnight.

I had rang Sonja earlier in the day and things were looking a bit more positive now that the SOS doctors were involved and the cat scan showed that Brian's injuries are not as extensive as first thought - 1 broken rib, some damage to his lung and a broken clavicle. He is still in ICU on a respirator but he is stable. Although he did wake up and rip the breathing tube out which pulled out some blood clots from his lungs which was a concern and now they will put a camera down his trachea to see if there is any damage. Unfortunately he needs to be restrained so that he doesn't pull out the tube again as his sedation makes him come in and out of consciousness. Hopefully he can be moved to Prince Court Hospital which is nearer once he is more stable.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Off to Adelaide

This morning I woke up reasonably early and caught a taxi to the airport for my 9.50 flight to Adelaide. I bought a youghurt and a coffee at the boarding gate and was surprised that the flight was already on final call 30 minutes before we were due to take off. I too a quick scull of my coffee before throwing it away and stashed my yoghurt in my bag for the flight.

I ended up with a spare seat next to me so I spread out and read my book and ate my yoghurt and before you knew it we had landed in Adelaide. Dad was at the boarding gate to meet me and we picked up my luggage and headed into town for something to eat. I picked up a SIM card before we headed home and we spent the rest of the day chatting and catching up as well as relaxing. Dad had bought me some flowers for my room to welcome me home.

I spoke to Sonja again and things were not going so well. Ian had arrived home from a Cross Country meet in Thailand and had gone in to visit Brian today with the rest of the family and he was really struggling seeing his Dad like that. Brian was now on a respirator to help his breathing and to take some of the pressure off his lungs and ribs. He was fully sedated and they were still worried about the bleeding.

I rang Julia and asked her to go see Sonja and help her with anything that she may need. Her and Phil had just come back from the Singapore Grand Prix and they were shocked to find out the news about Brian when they returned today.

I spoke with Ross and the company had organized the SOS Medical team to become involved.

It was a pretty stressful day for everyone involved. I wish I could be there to help out more.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

What a day

After the drama of yesterday, we woke up feeling pretty shitty but I had put our names on a team for a mixed netball tournament so we headed out to Mont Kiara School about 8.30. Sonja was told yesterday that visiting hours were from 6-7 and 12-1. So we had agreed that if she woke up and wanted to go to the hospital she would call us to take her or take a taxi. I advised her not to drive as she didn't know where the hospital was and it would be too stressful for her.

We didn't hear anything so we continued to play in the tournament winning the first few games. I gave her a ring about 11 to see how she was doing. She was OK but Brian had got worse over night. She had caught a taxi out in the morning to see him. She said that her and the girls would catch a taxi out at midday and visit him again.

We finished playing about 1 after coming 6th and we raced home where I showered and literally threw some clothes in a back for my trip home. I rang Sonja once I was packed to check how things were going. She said he was OK but that they were still concerned about the bleeding and were going to go into surgery again tomorrow morning. She said that she had tried to drive out that and had got lost but eventually found her way to the hospital. We talked through a few of her concerns and Ross and I made some suggestions on things to do. I wished her all the best for her, the kids and Brian and said that I would call when I got into Aus. I felt completely shit for having to leave and that I couldn't be there for her but I knew Ross would be there and would do anything that she needs.

Ross took me out to the train station and I headed to the airport for my flight to Perth. It was an uneventful flight and I landed just before midnight and headed to the Holiday Inn for a few hours sleep before catching my domestic flight to Adeliade tomorrow morning.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

One of the worst days ever - Brian shot!

Today started like a normal day. We woke up late in the morning and I realised that my leg had a major infection from where I had epilated yesterday. One whole strip on the right side of my right calf was covered in large pustules. I knew immediately that I had folliculitus again like I had when I got my first tatoo.

Ross took me down to the A & E at Prince Court Medical Center and I saw a doctor who prescribed antibiotics, antihistamines to take away the itchiness, antispetic cream to apply on the skin and pain killers. We got back home in time to catch the start of the AFL Grand Final.

Ross had invited Brian over to watch too so we gave him a call and he said he was having breakfast with Sonja and Emma after they had walked FRIM and he would come over when he got back. So Ross and I continued to watch the grand final and I even managed to find Australian party pies for half time.

The game finished and we were just hanging out when the intercom buzzer rang. We assumed it was Brian but we were suprised to hear Emma on the other end saying that it was kind of an emergency and could she come up.

All sorts of things ran through our heads but when Emma came off the lift and said that her dad had been shot it was the last thing that we expected. It took Ross and I a few seconds to realise that she was serious and to pull ourselves together to work out what she needed us to do.

We jumped in the car and headed back to Plaza Mont Kiara where they had been having breakfast. Apparently, as they had been walking back to their car, they saw an old lady being mugged by a guy wearing a bike helmet who was trying to steal her bag and really hurting her in the process. Brian ran over and pulled the guy off the old lady and as he ran away, Brian chased him down and started beating him. Before they new it, the robber had pulled a gun on Brian and had let off one shot into the air before aiming at Brian's chest and pulling a second time. After the robber had jumped on his bike and fled, Sonja had compressed the entry sight to try and contain the bleeding while Emma ran upstairs to get help at Starbucks. She managed to run into two Australian paramedics who had an office in the tower above the carpark and so after assessing Brian's condition, they ran upstairs and grabbed their equipment and managed to administer oxygen and fluids to Brian while he still laid in the carpark. They also had their own ambulance which they called and after 30 minutes since the time he was shot, Brian was taken to the University Hospital where the top cardiothoracic surgeon had been summoned and was there waiting for Brian.

With Emma, we managed to pick up Sonja's valuables and their car before heading to the hospital to meet up with Sonja and find out how Brian was. They had him waiting on a gurney on the cardiothoracic ward while they waited for an operating theatre to become available. Ross and I went in with Sonja and Emma to see Brian who was still conscious but in a lot of pain. He even joked with us about missing the football.

From there, Ross took Emma to the school to pick up Maddie and bring her back to the hospital and I stayed with Sonja while we worked out what was going on and what to do. The girls came back with Ross but by this time Brian had already gone into surgery and would be in there for a while. Ross took the girls home and again I stayed with Sonja to wait for results from the doctor.

Emma was pretty shaken up by the whole thing which was to be expected but particularly because while she was in the carpark looking after her dad, a person rang her pretending to be the police and asked her lots of details including her personal information such as her address etc. She soon found out that this person was a reporter pretending to be a policeman and she was scared that someone would track her or her family down.

After about 2 hours of surgery, the doctor called Sonja in and explained that he had fractured 7 ribs and had punctured part of his lung. They were worried about the amount of bleeding but they would keep him in ICU to assess the bleeding and keep Brian on morphine for the pain before doing a thorough cat scan on Monday. Sonja spent a few hours sitting with Brian who was still conscious before we finally decided that it would be best if she went home to her kids. We left about midnight.

I finally got home to see Ross. We hugged each other and broke down after all the drama of the day. Brian was doing ok but still no where near out of the woods yet. It really makes you stop and think about your own life...

Friday, September 25, 2009

Black Eyed Peas in KL!!

Today started like most Friday's with me driving to pick up Julia and then heading to netball. After yesterday's frying in the sun, I wasn't too keen on playing but luckily there was a heavy cover of clouds for the first three quarters. As always, we felt good afterwards although we were super sweaty.

After breakfast at the Blue Cow, I dropped Julia off at Ross' office so she could pick up the car from Phil. I came home and showered and then spent a couple of hours finishing off last night's beading projects before Sonja text to see if I wanted to meet her at KLCC for a cup of tea.

I walked over to Dome and we sat chatting and drinking tea before she drove me home. I was exhausted after netball and I hadn't slept too well last night due to the sunburn so I crawled into bed for a nap. Ross got home about 6 and we got changed and headed out to Sunway Lagoon for the Black Eyed Peas concert.

Out at Sunway we found our way to the enterance of the water park where we picked up our tickets and then whet in search of somewhere to eat. We ended up at Go Sushi and had a great meal with a mojito to get us in the party mood.

About 8, we decided to make our way into Sunway Lagoon Theme Park where the concert was being held. We went down and down escalators for ages before coming to the bottom of the park. They had drained the wave pool for tonight's event - pretty cool! On the way down, we stopped and looked at the various displays about the history of Guinness. Tonight's concert was to celebrate 250 years since Guinness was first brewed - commonly known at Arthur's Day (after Arthur Guinness). Around the world in 5 different cities, various concerts were being held over 36 hours with this one being the culmination of Arthur's Day.

We got down to the concert area and walked around to get our bearings. Not much was happening yet so we managed to find our way to the Tavern and had ourselves a drink (funny how they only served Guinness!). We finished our beers and planned to go and find an area to stand. In the end we decided the view from the bar was just fine and we could lean up against the fence rather than standing amongst a ton of people. So we grabbed another beer and watched a few of the warm-up acts.

Most of the acts were pretty shite but one of the local Malaysian singer/ songwriters, Reshmonu, was actually pretty good. About 10.30, the Black Eyed Peas finally came on. The first couple of songs they did were pretty ordinary as I don't think the sound system or microphones were working properly. It seemed that Fergie couldn't hear herself and so the songs sounded really off key. In an effort to fix this, Will.i.am DJed a set of tunes while the technicians obviously worked on the sound. His set was oone of the highlights of the night as he played everything from the latest club hits to MJ classics, Nirvana, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and other grooving tunes. He really had the crowd pumped!

By the time the Peas came back on, they had fixed the sound and the rest of the concert was awesome. Although we were a fair way away from the stage, we could easily see the huge video screens and the sound was great. Whoever was on the video cameras was obviously pretty shite as the video footage was so terrible you had to laugh. Half the time they weren't even showing any band members and then when they were, they were usually showing the one that wasn't singing!

They finished up their concert with the two tracks off their latest album, "Boom, Boom, Pow" and "Tonight's Gonna Be a Good Night". It was awesome and everyone was grooving away. The show finished about midnight and it was followed by a massive fireworks display that lasted about 15 minutes to celebrate the end of Arthur's Day.

We filed out with the masses and managed to find our way to the car and back home pretty easily. We got home about 12.45 and headed to bed after a great night.

It ended up being a really good concert after all the controversy. Initially, the concert was only open to non-Muslims which discriminated against about 50% of the local population. And despite being open only to people over 18 years old, there were rumours that Guinness would not be able to advertise their product let alone sell it at the event. In the end, I guess the government realised that there was no way they could enforce the non-Muslim only policy and it was opened up to everyone with Muslims being warned that they needed to use their best judgment as to whether or not they attended an event sponsored by a beer company. The sign at the front of the Tavern was pretty funny - "This drinking zone is strictly for non-Muslims only" and security guards were checking people's IC cards before they were being allowed in. I assume that they were checking people's race so if you were a Bumaputra you were not allowed into the area however the Chinese and Indian Malays were. The concert really did give an interesting insight into the culture and politics in Malaysia and how much religion influences life here.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

A great day with friends

This morning Sonja and I walked around Lake Titiwangsa. We walked for over an hour and ended up doing 2 1/2 laps around. Afterwards, we drove home and I parted ways with Sonja. I showered, had a smoothie and then did a couple of things around the house.

Julia rang about 11am to say that she was here. We had arranged to meet up for lunch and a swim. The pool was in shade when she arrived so we walked over to KLCC to have some lunch at The Apartment. It was pretty hot but we still sat outside. After a nice lunch, we walked back to Stonor again and were happy to see the pool was now in sun.

After a sweaty walk back, we were happy to throw on our togs and head downstairs to float about. We stayed in the pool for a few hours, chatting and soaking up the sun before getting too hot and deciding to go upstairs. We thought we might walk to Delicious for some tea but just as we were about to go Sonja rang and invited us to her place.

We spent an hour or so over at Sonja's drinking tea and chatting. About 4, Julia left to pick up Phil and I walked back home. Ross came home from work and we made some fajitas for tea. By this time, I was as red as a lobster! Not happy! I spent the rest of the night applying aloe vera on the burnt bits.

I also managed to do some beading. I had bought a kit from the beading place to learn how to make "chain mail" jewelery. The photo is of the completed pair of earrings. The kit included Swarovski crystals so it really looked nice when it was finished. The kit also included a matching necklace but I decided instead to make a bracelet.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Back to normal

Today started like any other day with Ross heading off to work. I woke up about 8 and got ready before heading out to beading class. Today we began working on another brooch, this time a flower and also made a star shaped pendant. The brooch was pretty fiddly wire weaving where the pendant was pretty easy.

From beading I dropped into IKEA and picked up some new cutting boards (exciting stuff huh?!) before heading home. I got home about 3, dropped my stuff, put my togs on and headed down to the pool again with my book, a couple of mags, my iPod and lilo.

Today it was just me floating about in the pool. As soon as I got downstairs I realised that I had forgotten my key - bugger! So I floated about reading for about an hour and a half before I felt I had had enough of the sun. I buzzed up to Sonja's place and luckily she was there so we chatted for an hour or so before Ross got home from work.

I got changed and Ross and I headed back to Low Yat to return the universal remote (the number 5 button didn't work!). Afterwards, we walked across the street and had dinner at Bangkok Jam, a nice Thai restaurant. We grabbed ourselves a gelato for the drive home.

I spent the evening grimacing in pain as I tried out my new epilator. Ouch! But it does do a good job and works on really short hair. I'm sure I can bare the pain once every few weeks and it is certainly better than shaving every two days or becoming scary hairy woman for waxing!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

A great last day to the holiday

This morning, Ross and I had breakfast and then headed out to Great Eastern to do some food shopping. We picked up some lunch from O'Briens, a cappuccino from Starbucks and then headed home. We ate lunch, did a few things around the house and then Ross headed down to the gym while I headed down to the pool.

Down at the pool, I caught up with Sonja, Brian and Maddie who were also making the most of the last day of the holiday. We floated about waving at Ross while he was sweating in the gym (see photo, I am lying on lilo next to Sonja and Maddie in their rings). About 5, I decided to head back up stairs.

We had made plans with Sonja and Brian to meet up to go eat somewhere along Changkat Bukit Bintang for dinner so at 6 we met downstairs and drove up there. We ended up trying an Argentinian restaurant called Pampas that none of us had tried before. The food was really good as was the atmosphere as we sat outside enjoying the beautiful night with some laid back tunes playing as we sipped our margaritas.

We left Sonja and Brian after dinner and walked to Low Yat to do a couple of things. From there we walked back down to Changkat Bukit Bintang to our favourite Thai massage place and indulged in hour long foot massages. What a fabulous way to end the long weekend!

Monday, September 21, 2009

Up and at 'em

This morning started reasonably early with us driving out to FRIM at 8.30am. Sonja and Brian had headed out 15 minutes before us. Ross and I started off and it was super busy. We did the first slope pretty fast to try and pass a lot of the groups. Once at the canopy walk we got stuck behind a big student group and had to excuse ourselves to get past them. We had one quick break before completely the rest of the canopy section and ending up at the waterfall.

From there we walked the long downward slope back to the car. We managed to complete the whole walk in about an hour. From FRIM, we drove to the Blue Cow Cafe to meet up with Brian and Sonja for breakfast. After devouring our Chef's special omelets, we headed home.

It was a rare sunny day so we got out of our sweaty gear and into our togs. With our floaties in hand and our books, we headed down to the pool. The water was pretty cool so we tried to stay as dry as possible while we floated about for a while reading and relaxing. All the Miller's except Ian came down as well.

In the afternoon, Ross headed off to work for a couple of hours and I went to the nail salon for a bit of pampering. They had a special on pumpkin and cinnamon scrub and masque treatment so I settled in for some serious relaxation. The scrub and masque smelt good enough to eat! I had the heated booties again on both my feet and my hands. I felt wonderful after the 2 and a half hours of pampering!

I walked home and met up with Ross. We spent the evening doing bits and pieces. I made some bead jewellery to practice my new skills. Before we knew it, it was past midnight so we headed to bed.

Another great day with one more to go!

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Thai cooking day

This morning we lazed around until midday before finally getting up and moving. We spent a few hours reorganizing the pantry and moving the food to the outside pantry. Hopefully this will make it easier to see what we have. I felt like doing some cooking so we asked Brian and Sonja around for dinner. I planned to make a Thai curry and some fish cakes.

In the afternoon, Ross and I walked over to KLCC and had a quick bit of late lunch at Sakae Sushi before picking up a couple of things from the supermarket. Back at home, I busied myself setting the table and making dinner. I tried to make some fish cakes but I think I over-processed the mixture so in the end I turned them into fish toasts (like prawn toasts). I dug out some frozen baguette bread and spread the mixture onto slices before putting them in the fridge ready to deep-fry.

Ross helped me make the green chicken curry. We picked some Thai basil leaves from the herb garden and added some beans - yum! Sonja and Brian came over about 7 and we had a lychee and cranberry cocktail to start while I got busy frying the toasts. We enjoyed the meal with some of my favourite sauvignon blanc.

After dinner, we played cards and introduced Brian and Sonja to "shithead". We played for a few hours and it was really fun. I broke out the chocolate and port for the last couple of rounds. Miller's headed home about 11 and we fell into bed.

It was nice to spend time with good friends and good food.

Health and Fitness Check:

Weight: 69.6 kg

Exercise:

- Walking at FRIM: 60 minutes
- Walking at Titiwangsa: 60 minutes
- Walking at KLCC: 50 minutes
- Elliptical trainer: 35 minutes

Saturday, September 19, 2009

A great start to the 4-day weekend!

We woke up about 9.30 this morning and made smoothies for breakfast before heading to the gym for a workout. It was the first time I had done a proper workout on the elliptical trainer for weeks so I was sweating up a storm by the time I finished! It felt great to stretch my body out properly again after so long.

From the gym, we showered and walked over to Pavilion for brunch before heading to Low Yat to do a couple of things. Unfortunately, the service at Dome was aweful and we had to wait for ever for our meals as they had stuffed up the order but they did give us a free coffee.

At Low Yat we hit the first store selling HTC phones to see if the Hero was in stock. The guy only had one piece in stock and it was the white colour but he said he could get the brown one here from PJ in an hour so we left him and went to do a few other things while we waited for the phone to arrive.

I had brought the old laptop with us to try and get the memory upgraded. I took it to our usual place but the guys there weren't the normal guys I had seen befroe and weren't really helpful. They said that the memory chip (a 256MB) was too old and that the new cards were not supported by the computer. It's a shame because we could have upgraded the laptop to 4MB of RAM but instead we have to leave it at 256KB.

Anyway, we left them and headed to our usual Superstore as I wanted to buy a new webcam for our computer at home. I also managed to convince Ross to buy a Logitech Universal Remote which I almost bougt him for his birthday this year. So we walked out of there with a specky webcam, the universal remote and a free 8GB thumb drive!

From there we headed back to the HTC store where the guy said it would be 15 more minutes. We asked if we could look at the white handset but he said it had already been sold - seems like the phones were walking out the door! They have just come into stores in Malaysia this week.

We went and had another coffee while we waited and when we went back we picked up the phone. They threw in a screen protector and an 8GB micro SD card as well. So we walked home with some new toys to play with!

I spent the rest of the afternoon playing with my phone while we watched sport on the TV. First the Union game between Aus and NZ, then the disappointing Collingwood/ Geelong game and finally the Broncos/ St George elimination final. The only break we had was to go and pick up some dinner from California Pizza Kitchen.

I managed to completely update my phone with all my contacts and set up the 7 home screen to my liking. It is a VERY cool phone (see photo) and the Android interface is amazing. Better than the iPhone :-)

So today was a great first day of the Hari Raya Aidilfitri long weekend. Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri everyone!

Friday, September 18, 2009

Making old things new again

Well, this morning I skipped netball in favour of a sleep in. However, I woke up about 8 so it wasn't really much of a sleep in. I got up and caught up on some emails. Dad had asked about our old laptop and if he could have it for scouts. We hadn't used it for years so I thought I would try to start it up and have a look if it was still OK.

I spent pretty much the rest of the day reformatting the laptop, loading new software and making sure that Windows was up to date. It took ages! I was going to take it to Low Yat for them to do it but I thought I didn't really have much to lose so I found the recovery disk and reformatted the hard disk myself.

About 3, Ross text to say that he was free for coffee so we made plans to meet up at Delicious for afternoon tea. I walked down to Delicious about 3.30 and ordered while waiting for Ross. The afternoon tea is so nice there but I was a bit disappointed that they had finished the carrot cake! We settled for chocolate banana cake instead (basically a chocolate mud cake with whole bananas through it). We managed to finish everything except for the cake which we took home with us.

We walked home in time to watch the AFL game between the Saints and the Bulldogs - what a game! Although the Saintes deserved to win, it was heartbreaking for the Bulldogs who absolutely busted themselves for the entire game to lose by 7 points.

We didn't eat dinner as the afternoon tea defiitely filled us up. A great deal for 68 Ringgit!

Thursday, September 17, 2009

A pretty bland day

Today started well with me meeting Sonja downstairs to walk around KLCC park this morning. We walked for about an hour before heading to Dome for breakfast (again!). We walked back to Stonor and went out separate ways about 10.

I pretty much spent the rest of the day in the house doing bits and pieces. I started by organizing my beading supplies which took me about 4 and a half hours! By the time I finished that, it was definitely time for lunch so I had tea and some cookies while watching Ellen on TV.

The rest of the afternoon was spent on the couch watching crappy TV and playing games on my iPod before Ross came home. We made a pasta bake for dinner and had the rest of the red wine. Ross even went out and bought McDonald's sundaes for us for dessert!

As you can see from the photo, a big storm rolled in at night and covered the towers in cloud.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Level 2 Beading

I did a few things around the house this morning before driving out to PJ for my beading class. Today we started Level 2 and only one other lady returned from last time. We did two projects today. The first was a wire weaving project making a dragonfly broach. I thought it turned out really well and can imagine making them in more realistic colours.

The second project was an "ethnic" necklace and matching earrings. Again, we used a wire weaving technique to create circles which we will link together with beads in the next lesson. I liked the colours I chose for this project and am interested to see the end result.

From beading I quickly ducked into Ikano to pick up some cat food before heading home. At home, I did a few more things before going over to Sonja's place for a cup of tea. We chatted for a couple of hours before I headed back home.

When Ross came home from work, we made some cauliflower soup and enjoyed it with a glass of wine. Afterwards, Ross did some more work while I finished off my beading homework; making the remaining rings for the necklace.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

A pretty typical expat day

I met Sonja downstairs at 7.30 this morning and we drove to Lake Titiwangsa to go for a walk. We did two laps around the whole complex which took us about an hour. It was a nice cool morning and the towers were covered in cloud as we walked around.

From there, we drove to KLCC and had a lazy breakfast at Dome before heading home. I spent the rest of the morning fiddling with iTunes and finally synchronizing the iPod Video. Ross came home just after 12 for lunch. I caught up with him quickly before heading downstairs to meet Julia so we could walk over to Pavilion.

We stopped for some lunch at La Bodega which was accompanied by a couple of glasses of wine. Just before 2, we walked over to Starhill Gallery for our facial appointments at Kanebo. The facial was good as always but the therapist I had today was not as good as those I have had in the past. I think she forgot about me for quite a while and then quickly came in and finished off the facial.

I had bought Julia a voucher for her birthday and when I met up with her again at around 4, she was very relaxed and said that she had enjoyed it. Phil was nice enough to pick us up at the Prince Hotel and they dropped me off before heading home themselves.

So the day was definitely spent being a lady of leisure!

Ross came home and we both spent the evening on the couch; Ross working and me playing round after round of Bejeweled on the iTouch.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Good and bad

This morning started early with me driving to pick up Julia for our walk at FRIM at 7.30. I knew today was going to be tough as I hadn't walked FRIM for over a month. We stopped a couple of extra times but we still did pretty well considering.

After the hour of exertion, we went to the Blue Cow Cafe for breakfast and I had the amazing Chef's special omellette. Yum! What a great breakfast! We drove back to Julia's place and I had a quick shower before heading off for my dentist appointment.

Today was the second appointment for my root canal. Dr. Tan drilled out the four canals in my teeth to make them wider, smoother and cleaner. About an hour and forty five minutes later I walked out feeling pretty exhausted after all the filing that went on in my head.

From the dentist, I drove out to Great Eastern to pick up some shopping. Somehow I managed to take a wrong turn and ended up in grid locked traffic for an hour before finally getting there. I did some shopping, picked up some sushi and headed home as my head was throbbing.

For the rest of the afternoon I laid on the couch before Ross came home at 5. He went to the gym and then we drove over to KLCC to try and buy me a new phone but with no luck as it hasn't come into the stores yet. We had dinner at a new Vietnamese restaurant in KLCC and we both had big steaming bowl of Pho noodles - yum! We did a quick stop at the bookstore as we had both finished our books before heading home.

Today's photo is of the cat grass that we planted last weekend. It has grown so much in such a short time! Soon it will be ready for Black and Blue.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

A day of recovery

Needless to say, I woke up a little rough after last night's frivolities. It was the first time I had had a drink since I got back from Aus. So I spent most of the day alternating between the couch and the bed. Ross and I did get up enough energy at one point to head down to the pool for an hour or so.

At about 5 we were hungry so we ordered Kenny Rogers Roasters for dinner. It's a great meal and very satisfying when one is hung over and probably a bit healthier than McDonald's! So today's photo is of my meal - yep, pretty exciting stuff.

We each had a nap on the couch after dinner and woke up about 7pm. We watched the F1 before heading to bed. I finished my book "The Time Traveler's Wife" - another good read.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

70s 80s throw backs!

This morning, Ross and I had breakfast at home before walking over to KLCC for a coffee. We did a couple of things before heading home again where we didn't do too much until the afternoon.

After lunch of mushroom fajitas, we watched the Tri-nations game between NZ and SA. Brian came over and watched the end of the game. The Crows v Collingwood game followed and we watched the first quarter before having to get ready for the MANZA 70s 80s night.

I managed to find some blue eyeshadow and pink blush that went well with the outfit. Ross donned his silky flowery shirt, my white pants, his dodgy white shoes and blonde afro. Too funny! Brian and Sonja came back over. Brian's costume was hysterical! He had shaved his goatee into a handle bar mustache and truly looked the part of a 70s porn star! Sonja and I looked like sisters in our matching 80s outfits.

We caught a taxi over to Heritage Row where we met up with Julia and Phil. Phil's wig was brilliant (see photo - Phil is next to me in the front) - particularly considering his natural hair colour is lighter than Ross'. After a drink we headed to the hotel and met up with Rimma and Simon as well as Kiki and Greg. Everyone looked great and it was so funny to see everyone else's costumes.

Kiki, Rimma and Greg had all been fasting for Ramadhan so we felt bad for them that they couldn't eat or drink until 7.20ish. When we could eat, the buffet was pretty good - especially the desserts! Pavlova, chocolate mousse, lamingtons - yum!

Throughout the night, they had a few competitions including best dressed male and female. Brian and I were the representatives for our table. Neither of us won but Brian did come 4th. Next was a dance competition that was a bit lame but after all that was out the way, the dancing started. The DJ was OK, not great, but OK. Considering the huge amount of music he could have picked from, what he played was pretty shite with a few patches of exceptional dancing songs.

On the big screen, Grease followed by Saturday Night Fever played. We had a good night and it was great to spend time with good friends. About 12 we left to go and find Phil who was watching the football at a pub across the road. We stayed for a few more drinks before heading home about 1.30.

What a fun night!

Friday, September 11, 2009

A productive and busy day

This morning started by me meeting Julia at her place around 8.15. We went and had a coffee before heading to netball. It was the first time I had played in quite a while and it was great to see the girls again! It was incredibly hot though and so by the time we finished I was exhausted.

We headed back to Julia's place and I jumped in the shower while Julia was kind enough to make scrambled eggs for breakfast. I scarfed them down before heading out the door to make it to my beading class in time.

At beading class, I met Hester and realised I had forgotten my tools so luckily she was kind enough to lend me hers for today. We made two rings today (see photo). They were both very different and quite easy to make. Again, I can imagine making them out of quality beads and they would be great. I really liked the purple and green colours in the woven ring and I can imagine Swarovski crystals for the starburst ring.

I finished the projects about 1pm and drove to Ikano to meet Sonja for lunch at Dome. After lunch we headed to Strip! for our waxing appointments. Afterwards, we popped in for a quick 30min foot massage before each heading our separate ways to go home.

It started to rain as soon as I got in the car and the traffic was so bad it took me 1 hour 15 mins to get home where it would normally take me 20 mins. I was not too happy by the time I got there. Ross was already at home when I arrived and we watched the AFL finals game between Brisbane and the Bulldogs. No real surprise the Bulldogs won.

I was absolutely shattered by 8.30 so I headed to bed.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

More shopping and catching up with friends

I did a few chores around the house this morning before Julia text asking if I was free for lunch. We made plans to meet at Mid Valley mall. I headed out early to look for the last part of my costume, a black ra-ra skirt. I went to Isetan and found one right away. It was a bit more than I wanted to pay but it was perfect!

I wandered around most of the other stores looking for cheaper options. I did manage to find Ross some cheap white shoes to complete his outfit before meeting Julia for lunch at Delicious. We enjoyed lunch outside while catching up on things.

After lunch, Julia came with me to do a couple more things including ordering beer to be delivered in time for the football finals. We stopped for a coffee at Starbucks before Julia headed off home. I did a quick hit and run at Cold Storage before heading home myself.

I got home about 4 and finished off a few things before relaxing on the couch for the rest of the afternoon before Ross got home. Ross came home about 6 and headed to the gym. We then drove over to KLCC for some dinner at Santini's. We met up with Ross' colleagues, Phil, Brian, Simon and Will and joined them for some food and a couple of drinks. Sonja also walked over to meet us. We left them after an hour or so and went to pick up the last details for my costume and also a sundae from Burger King on the way home :-)

Today's photo is of the Ramadhan display at Mid Valley Megamall. It looks exactly the same as the one set up in KLCC.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Shopping for a costume

After spending the weekend looking and finding Ross' costume for the upcoming party, today was my turn. I met Sonja over at KLCC about 12 and we started with lunch at Dome before heading to BB Plaza and Sungai Wang mall to find our outfits.

We wandered the various stalls that were full of options. One of the first shops we went into looked promising so we made a mental note of where it was and continued looking around. We found some great accessories to go with the possible costume - fingerless mesh gloves, footless stockings, wigs, awful patent flat shoes, sunglasses, handbags. We bought a bunch of stuff and then headed back to the first store to buy the tank top and off the shoulder neon T-shirt combo we had spied.

My shirt was hot pink and black and my yellow shoes and blue stockings were just not going to work so we did a quick dash around the same shops and exchanged a few things. By this time, we were exhausted so we walked back to Pavilion for a coffee before walking home.

I got home about 5.30 so it was a full day immersed in the 80s. Ross came home about 6 and we ordered Indian for dinner - yum! We were both so hungry we wolfed down the food when it arrived. A bit of crap TV and we headed to bed.

Can't wait for the weekend! Today's photo is just a taste of what's to come. (However, I now realize that I have to put my little finger through a hole in the glove too!)

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Beading catch-up

This morning I headed out to beading class to catch up on the projects I missed while I was in Singapore. It was just me and the instructor, Hester, today which was a bit weird but also meant that we finished fast.

Today we made a bracelet by weaving circlets and linking them together and we also made a pendant on an adjustable cord. Both projects were pretty easy but a bit fiddly. I like the bracelet and can imagine making the circlets that look like flowers using different beads for new bracelets and even earrings. It was good to learn how to tie the adjustable knots too.

My next catch-up class is on Friday and we will make two rings.

After the class, I headed home and picked up Ross from the office for lunch. We went to KLCC again, this time to Nandos. I dropped him back at the office and then I headed home. I did a few things on the computer before spending the rest of the afternoon chilling out on the bed watching TV. I even had a bath! What a lovely day!

Ross made spag bog for dinner and we watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix which happened to be on TV.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Reading day

Today I pretty much spent the whole day in my PJs reading my book. I finished one - A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon - and got about a third of the way through a new one - The Time Traveler's Wife. It was great to actually spend the day reading; something I haven't done for a long time.

Ross came home about 5.30 so I finally took a shower and we walked over to KLCC for some dinner. We went to California Pizza Kitchen and had their Ramadan special. We split half a miso salad and a chicken tandoori pizza - yum - then enjoyed our complimentary ice cream, dates and special Ramadan drink (basically apple juice with jelly bits in it). It was a great meal for 45 RM.

We went up to the bookstore and Ross picked up a new book (I picked up a trashy magazine) and we walked home. On the way we noticed the kiddies water area had been renovated and was now all lit up (see photo).

I read more that night before falling asleep.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

A great and busy Sunday

Despite the lazy start this morning, today was actually a pretty productive day. Ross and I lazed around in the bed until about 10.30 before hunger got the better of us and we were forced to get up to find some food. We headed up to Changkat Bukit Bintang and had breakfast at the Magnificent Fish and Chip Bar. It was pretty good and cheap.

From there we headed back to Sungai Wang plaza to find Ross a costume. We bought a singlet and headband that we thought could go towards a Richard Simmons costume - pretty funny! We headed back to the house for a break and to catch up on the AFL before heading to KLCC to find the last parts of Ross' outfit.

We found a shop that sold some pretty groovy clothes and Ross bought a pretty loud shirt so I think he will change his costume to Disco Ross. We grabbed a coffee and did a bit more shopping before driving to Ross' office so we could unpack his boxes into his new office.

Back at home, we watched some NRL and did a few chores around the house. Ross and I planted some seeds and also transplanted the oregano and thyme plants that I had bought. The cats polished off the few strands of cat grass and almost mauled me for more! Luckily we have planted a whole tray of it so hopefully that will keep them happy.

We made pasta for dinner with last nights lamb sausages and then played Scrabble. It was the first time ever that I have played a game of Scrabble and we used all the tiles (see photo)! Unfortunately, Ross just pipped me to the post and won by 20 points after I was leading for pretty much the whole game.

A great Sunday!

Health and Fitness Check:

Weight: 69.7 kg

I have had to adjust the number of points on WW now as I passed my goal but I think I wouldn't mind losing 2 kg more but I definitely don't want to constantly be concerned what I eat like I have over the past few months. So I compromised with my points and hopefully I will be able to maintain my weight and gradually lose a bit more.

Exercise:

- Just a bit of walking

Saturday, September 5, 2009

A good start to the weekend

We both woke up about 8.30 this morning and we made smoothies for breakfast before heading out and about to do a few things. We drove over to Pavilion and went Hugo Boss to try and get Ross' watch repaired. They were really good and since it is covered under warranty they will fix it for us.

After, we had a coffee at the Coffee Bean before walking down Bukit Bintang to try and find a 70s/ 80s costume for Ross for next weekend. We ended up at BB Plaza and although Ross has an afro wig, we couldn't find anything 70s; it seems the 80s are back with a vengence fashion wise! We didn't really find anything that we liked so he will have to go back tomorrow.

We picked up some groceries at Mercato before heading home again. We spent the afternoon watching AFL again and relaxing. About 4, Ross headed to the office to pick up his computer and came home with a beautiful bunch of flowers for me (see photo)! We did a few chores around the house before watching the tri-nations game. It was nice to see the Wallabies win!!

We cooked up burgers and snags on the BBQ for dinner before heading back inside to watch the last AFL game of the day. A great start to the weekend!

Friday, September 4, 2009

Total veg day

Today I spent the entire day pretty much on the couch. I woke up at 10.30 after having to wait up for Ross to let him in when he rolled in just before 1. Luckily, I woke up in time to let the wallpaper guys in who arrived at 11. I had some breakfast and watched some TV while they wallpapered the dividing wall between the dining room as the gyprock kept cracking.

Ross came home for lunch with a pretty rotten hangover. We spent some time together before he had to head back to work. I dropped him off at the office and then spent the rest of the afternoon under the blanket on the couch watching pretty crap TV! Black spent most of his afternoon on my lap and Blue spent his afternoon outside in the cat tunnel.

About 5 I thought I should really start pulling my finger out so I prepared a veggie curry and let it cook while I headed to the shower. With my PJs on, I finished getting dinner ready and ate it while watching the first AFL finals game between the Crows and the Essendon - great game!

Ross was out at another work Buka Puasa so I watched the game by myself. He got home about 10 and we watched the last round of the NRL before I headed to bed.

Today's photo is of the construction site. See the last photos on May 2 and July 30.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Not much on the cards today

Today, I spent the morning fiddling about on the computer, tidying up my iTunes library and doing a few other things. Ross rang about 11.30 and we made plans to have lunch together. I jumped in the shower and then went to pick him up. We were going to take his new watch to get some of the links taken out to fit him. I had the watch in my pocket and it fell out when I sat and the bloody hands fell off! Not bad for an expensive watch! So I was pretty pissed off as I went down to the car. In the car, I found the immobiliser button had been pulled out and I immediately thought the car had been broken into as the iPod wasn't in the dock. But I opened the glove box and saw the iPod so I knew that it must have been something that Ross did when he took the car out last night.

So off I headed. As I drove out of the carpark, I clipped a column on the last turn out of the carpark and knocked the bumper strip off the column! I couldn't believe it! Almost a year we've been driving here in KL and today was the first time I have done something like that. Luckily, I only scratched the wheel hub on the car and you can hardly see it.

When I picked Ross up I wasn't really in a great mood but we had lunch at Alexis and spending some time with Ross put me in a better mood but I still couldn't wait to get home and into my PJs on the couch. I dropped Ross back at work and that was exactly what I did!

Ross came home about 5.30. He had had a pretty crap day at work so we chilled out for a couple of hours before heading out to meet one of the company president's for dinner. Sonja and Brian came with us and we met Alistair (the president) and another work colleague (Brian) at the Prince hotel for drinks. We had a couple of drinks before heading around the corner to Hakka, a local restaurant, for dinner.

We enjoyed a huge amount of food including what seemed like a never ending steam boat! The boys got stuck into the beers and Sonja and I stuck to the water. After dinner we walked back to the Prince and left the boys to have a nightcap. Sonja and I drove home about 11. It was a good night and nice to catch up with Alistair again after last seeing him in Qatar when I started working for ROTA.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Back to Beading

This morning I headed off to beading class with my homework. I was surprised to see the other ladies there as I thought that they had finished all their classes for Level 1 while I was away. While the other ladies continued with lesson 9, I set to work catching up on lesson 8 which was also part of the homework that I had done.

It took my a long time to finish doing all the double loop work and join them together. By the time I finished, the other ladies were also finishing their project, a woven ring. We all worked together on our last task, constructing our graduation piece, a 3 layer necklace. It was fiddly work and took me until 12 to finish. I was really happy with the result and even though we only used plastic beads and pretty crappy findings, I really liked the look of the necklace (see photo) and can imagine how nice it would be with real crystal beads and better quality findings.

Hester, our instructor, was nice enough to arrange the level 2 classes around me to allow me to catch up on the lessons I missed in Singapore. So next week I will have two lessons to finish the 4 tasks I missed.

So after the class I headed off to Ikano Power Center to pick up my handbag that was being fumigated after the cat peed on it! They pretty much got the smell out of it. Well, it's 100% better than it was! While I was there I picked up some cupcakes from Cupcake Chic and also a few groceries before heading home.

Sonja had text me earlier in the day to see if we could catch up for tea so she came over when we got home and we had tea and cupcakes - yum! We chatted until about 4.

Ross came home for an hour or so before having to head out to a company sponsored Buka Puasa (Ramadan breaking of fast buffet). He came home again about 8.30 and we polished off the rest of the cupcake before heading to bed!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Catching up

This morning I slept in again. OK, I think I just have to accept, my get up time has changed some! Anyway, I busied myself putting away stuff from Singapore and tidying up in general. I finally managed to get organized enough to have a shower about 12. I did a bit more beading homework in preparation for my lesson tomorrow.

Our cleaner Daisy came in about 1 and I caught up with her for a while before heading to Pavilion to buy my friend Julia a birthday present. I decided to buy her a voucher for a facial at Kanebo where I go.

I drove over to Delicious at Dua and met up with Julia for a late lunch. It was good to catch up with her again after 3 weeks and I think she liked her present :-) I drove home and not long afterwards, Ross arrived. We didn't do too much other than cook some dinner and watch some TV.

I bought some beetroot fettuccine from the Delicious Deli so we cooked up a sauce with shredded zucchini and cherry tomatoes. Yum! We watched some more Californication before heading to bed.