Tidying up loose ends

This morning I woke up and walked over to the gym for a workout. On my walk over, it seemed that half of KL's workmen were also out on the streets so I must have looked a little odd walking in my work out gear.

I worked out for just over an hour then went to Coffee Bean for breakfast. I made a few phone calls - one to check if I had a dental appointment for my root canal and the other to cancel my facial that I had booked for today :-( - before walking home. I also rang Ross and we agreed to meet up for lunch.

While waiting to meet Ross, I did some washing, played with Blue out on the balcony and caught up on my blog. I drove over to pick Ross up from the office and we went to Delicious for lunch. We beat the usual lunchtime crowd so it was nice and quiet and quick. I had an awesome Vietnamese chicken salad - just preparing myself for my trip to Hanoi :-).

After lunch I relaxed for a while on the couch, started sorting out my packing, did a few more chores and before I knew it Ross was home from work. We walked to KLCC for dinner at Sakae Sushi and picked up a frozen yoghurt for the walk home. I spent the evening finalizing my packing and making sure I had everything - money, visa and travel guides most importantly! (see photo).

It will be an early night as I am being picked up at 4.30am tomorrow! Hanoi here I come...

Ladies who... morning tea!

This morning I did a few chores around the house before getting ready in time for Rimma to pick me up to go to morning tea at Kiki's place. We stopped to pick up Mihkah and her baby Victoria from her place on Jalan Kia Peng before driving to Kiki's house in Ampang.

Quite a few other ladies were there already when we arrived - some I had met before and some new people. We spent quite a few hours drinking tea, eating great food and chatting. Again, it was really nice to spend time with a group of ladies here in KL.

Rimma picked up her son Luke and brought him back to Kiki's for a while and we stayed on a while longer before Rimma dropped me home. By this time it was about 2pm.

I spent the rest of the afternoon doing a few things around the house and on the computer before Ross came home. We had leftovers for dinner before heading over to KLCC to do a bit of shopping and to browse around. We stopped for a coffee before heading home and by the time I got there, my foot which had the wart removed was really swollen. I lay on the couch for a while with my feet up to let the swelling go down before heading to bed.

Golf and Guru

This morning I woke up with Ross and headed off for golf lessons at Titiwangsa at 8am. I bought myself a bucket of 100 balls, did some warm up stretches and started to hit some balls. I could already tell today was not going to be my day on the driving range!

Rimma arrived about 8.30am and there was still no sign of Mr. Aro our coach. Rimma asked the man behind the desk to call him and find out where he was. Aro finally arrived at 9 - an hour after he was supposed to. This already put in bad mood as I hate waiting for people and wasting my time.

Anyway, we started as usual with him taking one of us and hitting some balls. Today I was having a shocker and really only hit about 10% of the balls correctly. Aro was frustrating me too by telling to change one little thing each time - it was all too much to think about without enough time to practice in between.

Rimma was also frustrated but she was doing better than me. I was watching the way that Aro was teaching Rimma and it was completely different from the way that Eric teaches at KDE. Her arms were bent on her back swing and he was asking her to pull the club back until it was parallel with the ground. With me, he was asking me to 'throw' the club at the practice mat rather than work on a smooth swing. In the end I just hit ball after ball not really listening to him as he was really starting to piss me off.

After our 'lesson' Rimma and I both agreed that he was a real pain today. I know I won't be continuing with him in the future and will just stick with Eric. I think being taught by two different coaches was not a good idea to start with. Now I have to try and remember the way that Eric was getting me to swing last week in time for our lesson on Friday. Ross is going to join me so it should be fun.

So after a bit of a frustrating moring at the driving range, I went home, jumped in for a quick shower and walked to KLCC in time for my appointment with Dr. Guru. On the way to the clinic, I picked up breakfast which I drank and ate while waiting for my appointment. I didn't have to wait too long today, about 15 minutes, before Dr. Guru called me to look at my wart again.

He said that we could continue freezing it but it would take at least another 3 or 4 sessions or he could cut it out today. I thought about it for a bit and despite the inconvenience of having to stop going to the gym or swim for a week, I decided that it is probably best to cut the bloody thing out and get it over and done with.

I went back outside while they prepared the stuff they would need and then was shown back in. Dr. Guru cleaned up the area then sprayed some really cold spray on my foot to take my mind off the pain of the local anaesthetic. Yep, that didn't work too well - it hurt like hell!

Once the anaesthetic kicked in, he used a thermal cutter to cut around the wart to remove it. The first cut he made really hurt as I could still feel the heat but after that it got a bit better although it was a really weird sensation and I wanted to keep pulling my foot away. The smell was awful too! In about 15 minutes he had removed all that he could but said that I would probably still need more cryotherapy to remove the last of it as it was really deep. They bandaged me up and sent me on me way with a bill for 1000 RM. Not bad for 20 minutes work!

Now I have to keep the dressing on until Friday when he will remove it. I am a bit pissed off that I have to slow down on the exercise but I guess one week isn't too much to ask. Actually it will take 1 week for a scab to form and then I will need to be careful after that. I just hope it is all fixed by the time we go to WA in July as I want to be swimming every day :-).

After visiting Dr. Guru, I walked around KLCC for a while. I bought a three tiered tray in preparation for the inevitable ladies morning tea that I will host at some point I'm sure and also did a quick bit of shopping before hobbling back to the apartment. The photo today is of the Taj Mahal... made out of Lego which was on display in KLCC.

At home I had some lunch and spent the after noon on the computer catching up on things and also finally finishing the iTunes library - YIPPEE!! So now I can synchronize my iPod again. I also downloaded some new music to add.

Ross came home about 7 and we had tomato, tuna and olive pasta for dinner. After dinner, I tried to catch up on all the medical claims that I have had over the past few months. I will have to spend more time tomorrow submitting 5 outstanding claims to BUPA to be reimbursed. But the main thing is that they will cover it.

Ross and I both feel into bed about 10pm exhausted.

Another golf lesson

This morning I woke up in time to get ready and drive to Titiwangsa golf course to meet Rimma and Leti for a golf lesson. This was the first lesson for them and I thought I would go along too as more practice can't be a bad thing!

Luckily I remembered to throw Ross' 7 iron in the car because unlike the other lessons I have been taking, this time you had to bring your own clubs. Our coach, Ado, was a Malaysian guy who is a member of the Malaysian PGA. We started by stretching with our clubs to warm up - probably a really good thing to do! We then stood at our individual positions as he took us through our grip and the swing.

I was a little worried that this coach would tell me different things from what Eric was teaching me and that this would confuse me but instead, this coach was happy with my grip and my swing. I had only been doing 3/4 swings with Eric and Ado was helping do a full swing. We practiced without hitting any balls for ages then he took us one by one to hit about 15 balls at a time.

Like my last lesson, I kept tending to hit the balls to the right. Ado showed me that by rotating the club slightly to the left that I would be able to hit the balls straighter. It worked most of the time. It was also nice to feel what a full swing feels like.

The other girls did pretty well too and enjoyed their first lesson. I really liked it because it gave me more practice.

From there I drove home, got changed and walked to KLCC. I went to Isetan to find a golf glove. The women's gloves were way too small so I ended up buying a men's glove. They were having a sale so I also picked up two golf polo shirts - the quick dry type that you need here in KL! I also looked at the golf shoes and found a pair in my size that didn't look too dodgy - they actually look like gym trainers. So I guess I am really into golf at the moment!

Ross rang just before lunchtime and I walked from KLCC to his office to meet him. We walked to Delicious cafe at the Dua Complex. This is a really nice cafe (the one where I had afternoon tea with Sonja earlier in the week).

After lunch, Ross went back to work and I walked home. I was pretty tired again so I crawled into bed to watch some TV and ended up sleeping for two hours - what a nice nap!

Ross came home from work about 6 and we drove out to Great Eastern to get all his new shirts and trousers from Singapore altered. He is also getting a pair of light tan suit pants made for work.

We went downstairs and had dinner at Alexis which was really nice too. After dinner we moved outside and shared a slice of Banoffee Pie with our coffee - heaven! The photo is a bit of a shaky shot taken of the Petronus Towers on our drive back home.

A good day.

Embassies and plans

This morning I woke a little earlier than yesterday even though I had real trouble sleeping last night. I showered, had breakfast and then started my walk to the Aus Consulate to have Ross' Change of Name Certificate attested.

It was the first time I had been to the High Commission and it was nice to hear some true Aussie accents! I arrived just as they opened so the whole thing was over and done with in about 20 minutes.

From there, I walked back over to KLCC, picked up a couple of coffees. The photo is looking down at the bottom of KLCC where a Lego exhibition is set up. You can see a lego model of the Petronus Towers in the photo. We'll have to go take a look soon.

From there, I headed to Ross' office. I sat with him while we had our coffees and then I was off again, this time to the Vietnam Embassy. The embassy is just around the corner from the apartment.

I picked up the visa form and walked home. I had worn my pedometer today and was suprised to see that I had walked 5km without even noticing. I spent the rest of the afternoon finalizing plans for our trip to WA and also my trip to Hanoi. I made some real progress and now almost all the arrangements are done.

Ross came home and we both headed to the gym for a good workout. We made some pasta for dinner and now are just relaxing on the couch watching the news and just feel sick thinking about the Air France 447 flight that is still lost.

A full day

As usual, this Wednesday started early with me picking up Sonja to head out to FRIM. We picked Julia up on the way. Every week we go and they charge us a different amount to enter the park. This week they tried to charge up 15 ringgit - the most we would have ever paid. Sonja had a bit of an argument with the gate guard and we ended up paying 7 ringgit which is pretty much what we normally pay although last week it was free!

We did our trek up the mountain and down again and today it actually didn't feel too bad. Perhaps all this exercise is starting to pay off? Don't get me wrong, I was still drenched in sweat and we stopped on the way up but I actually enjoyed it today.

We dropped Julia home so she could head out to do her dress shopping - she still doesn't have a dress for the ball on Saturday. Sonja and I drove back to Stonor, had quick showers and then walked over to the Prince Hotel where the American Women's Association Spring Bazaar was being held. Debbie, the lady I met at the Oilman's Dinner, was working at the White Elephant stall so I thought it would be nice to pop by and say hi. Of course, I couldn't find her!

Sonja and I wandered among the stalls for an hour or so. We both bought things from a stall selling silver jewellery at really reasonable prices. I bought a chunky ring and thick silver hinged bangle. I also bought a plate that looks like the Monopoly game board - don't ask me why but I did. I thought it might be fun to use at the bar or when we have games nights.

From there we went to Pavillion for lunch as we were both starving. We ended up at Tony Roma's where they do a good value lunch deal. For 17 ringgit I got a cup of soup, a chicken salad and a never ending drink. And it was good!

Sonja and I wandered the shops, had a coffee and changed our hair and makeup appointments to be a bit earlier. Today's photo is of a car that was in the foyer of the mall. I have no idea what type it is but thought it looked kinda cool.

By the time we walked home, it was 4pm. When Ross came home from work, we watched American Idol and then drove over to KLCC for dinner and to pick up my dress for the last time. We ate at the Korean BBQ place and it was fantastic! They had this seafood pancake that sounds aweful but was dfelicious with small prawns, vegetables and I think potato all kind of fried together - yum! The fried rice and the grilled beef were great too.

Downstairs, I picked up my dress, tried it on quickly - it's ok but still not perfect. But it will do. Then we headed home.

Strip!

I woke up pretty early this morning with Ross and as he walked to work I drove to Pavillion and headed to the gym. I worked hard on the elliptical trainer and felt my legs turn to jelly when I got off 45 minutes later. I spent some time stretching in an attempt to make sure that my body wasn't sore later, we'll see how that goes!

At home, I showered, did a few quick chores and even did the shopping downstairs at the grocery van. I then drove out to Ikano Power Mall to pick up something I had framed (a secret I can't talk about just yet :-)) and also to go to my waxing appointment.

I had booked in to get some waxing done at a place called 'Strip!'. Before then, I went up to the pet store to see what puppies they had in (very cute little girl beagle pup that I would have adopted if I could) and then went to Dome to have lunch, a coffee, and to catch up on some emails.

I headed to Strip! a little early and they let me in for my appointment. The shop itself is pretty groovy; they do waxing for women and men and I was surprised to see two or three blokes in there waiting for their appointments. The inside of the store was decorated with cardboard boxes - sounds weird but looked pretty cool.

My therapist led me to the room and without going into too many details, let's just say that I got what I came for and it was the best waxing experience I have had here in KL for the whole year that I have been here. As I lay there gritting my teeth, I took a bit of time to read the posters on the wall. There were lots of funny quotes and sayings about waxing. My favourite was 'If you want to sell the house, you've got to mow the lawn". Another promising one - 'From muff to buff in 15 minutes'. Love it!

Today's photo is of one of the posters on the wall in the treatment room.

By this time, I was pretty ready to go home. Ross came home and we ate the leftover potato, corn and ham soup from last night and I also made a little shepherd's pie to use up the leftover mince. Ross needed a haircut so we walked over to KLCC. I browsed through the Kinokiniya bookstore while Ross was in the salon and walked out with a couple of guide books on Hanoi, the new Malaysia GPS road map book and a book on sociology.

After a coffee at Starbucks we headed home.

Start of the week

I woke up about 9.30am and headed to the lounge for breakfast while watching Project Runway. From there I took myself down to the gym and worked out for just over an hour.

By the time I got back upstairs, it was midday. Sonja text and asked if I wanted to meet her for lunch so I showered and walked over to KLCC. We ate at Dome and then went downstairs to look at shoes to go with Sonja's dress for the ball. She ended up buying a pair with jewels down the front - gorgeous! The photo is of my big hoofer next to another pair of shoes that Sonja was trying on. She has tiny feet! Size 6 compared to my gigantic size 10 - made me laugh.

From there we walked over to Pavillion for a coffee and also to see if we could find a place to do our makeup for the ball. We booked appointments at MAC for Saturday afternoon - the last thing before the ball.

We walked home and it was quite steamy so we put our togs on, grabbed our sun loungers and headed to the pool. Maddy and Ian joined us and we floated about for an hour or so. On the way out of the pool I joked with Sonja that we will end up as twins at the ball as we are getting our hair, makeup and nails done together. A bit like the Stepford wives however she said more like the Stonor wives!

I had a bunch of potatoes that were on their last legs so while Ross was at the gym, I looked up a potato, corn and ham soup recipe from the Weight Watchers site. It was fantastic! I think I will be making that one again. Luckily there is some left over for lunch tomorrow.

Catching up

I think all the activity over the weekend caught up with me this morning as I didn't wake up until 10.30am. I did a few things around the house and had some breakfast before heading to the gym (see photo :-)).

I spent a fair bit of time working out before going downstairs to the pool. I had brought down the sun lounger so I stripped off my sweaty gym clothes (luckily I had togs on underneath!) and jumped into the pool. I floated about in the sun for about an hour, reading my book and making the most of the sun on the pool.

As I got back upstairs, the girls were in to clean the apartment. I luxuriated in the shower for ages to give them some time to get things done and by this time they had almost finished. Ross came home as they left and the contractors to fix the doors arrived. They took about an hour to shave the doors so they close properly and also to fix a couple of hinges.

Ross headed to the gym and I got dinner started. After dinner Ross and I walked to KLCC so I could pick up my red dress that was having the side ribbons removed. The dress wasn't ready yet so we went to Stadium to see if I could find some more long pants for the gym. Luckily they were having a sale so I walked out with one pair of three quarter pants, a polo shirt, workout singlet and two sports crop tops.

A quick decaf cappuccino (yep, I've switched to decaf tea and coffee) and we went back down to the tailor. The dress was ready.

We were about to walk back but the weather looked a bit ominous so we jumped on the Trader's Hotel shuttle. We managed to get home just as the storm started.

A better day than yesterday!

A low key day

Not much happening today. I met Ross for lunch at Dome in KLCC - however, the service and the food was disappointing. Ross and I think that they put all the good staff at the outside Dome rather than the one inside.

In the afternoon, I just vegged out in front of the TV. I needed a break from cooking so we went to Santini's for pizza and a drink - the weather was beautiful to be sitting outside. The video is of the water fountains outside KLCC.

We came back and started watching Entourage Season 5 on DVD. I had forgotten how funny this show was! We had to stop ourselves watching the entire season all in one night!