To the gym... again

I woke up late this morning after a wonderful 11 hour sleep! Ross was up and out before the sun even rose so I took advantage of the peace and quiet. When I finally did wake up, I had some breakfast and then headed to Pavillion to go to the gym. It had been a week since I went and worked out on the machines. After 25 minutes on the elliptical trainer, I hit the weight machines for another 30 minutes.

I went to shower and realised that I had forgot a towel so I had to dry myself with my tracksuit pants - not cool at all! Also not that absorbent as they are 'climacool' and designed to repel sweat! Anyway, I made do with my makeshift towel, got changed and went to Dome for lunch were I caught up on my blog and did a few other things online.

From Pavillion, I drove to Great Eastern mall to run a few errands and do some shopping. By the time I had finished there it was already 5 - amazing how time flies! Ross came home about 6 to find me in much better shape than yesterday. I cooked prawn and asparagus pasta in a cream sauce and we sat on the balcony to eat and catch up on the day over a glass of wine - a nice evening!

As we sat outside, the sky turned this amazing shade of pink behind the towers. I know the photo looks surreal but this was the true colour. I never get sick of looking at those things!

Doctors and dentists

This morning started with a golf lesson at Titiwangsa. Letty walked from her condo next door at Park 7 to Stonor and I picked her up to go to the driving range.

We arrived a bit before our lesson was due to start at 8am. We bought a bucket of balls and I had a bit of a hit before the instructor arrived.

We did some warm-ups before practicing our swings again. I was starting to get the hang of the full swing now. We took it in turns to hit about 15 balls each. Rimma was doing really well and although she didn't hit the balls too far, they were always dead straight. I was hitting pretty far (around 100m) and mostly straight with a few errant balls every now and then. Letty was a little more inconsistent but was definitely getting the hang of it by the end.

After hitting 200 balls between us, I was completely exhausted! I think that hitting balls on driving range yesterday was perhaps not the best idea as my body was already sore. Last week, I bought a glove so my hands wouldn't get so sore but because I have "man hands", I could not find a glove to fit my right hand and so ended up with a burst blister on my thumb after just a few swings. Who knew golf could be so painful! :-)

At the end of the lesson, I dropped Letty back and had a quick shower before driving to KLCC - I was too exhausted to walk! I had my second appointment with the dermatologist to get rid of this wart on my foot. He cut away the dead skin from the freezing last week and froze it some more. He didn't seem too confident that it would clear up by freezing alone so it looks like he may have to cut it out next week if there is not much improvement. I'm not looking forward to that as it is really deep and I don't really want to have to stay off my foot for any length of time. Anyway I guess we'll see how it goes.

I had to wait an hour before getting in to see Dr. Guru (love the name) and by the time I hobbled out of his office it was already 1pm - the time I was supposed to be at the dentist at Mont Kiara. Of course, I had left my phone at home so I couldn't even call them to tell them I would be late so I arrived half an hour late to find Dr. Sharifa in the front office waiting for me.

She didn't seem too fussed that I was late and we chatted about my foot for a while. Some how we got talking about the gym and she said that the latest research shows that you shouldn't drink sports drinks straight after exercise because you have only a small amount of saliva to protect your teeth from the acid in the drinks. She said to wait 30 minutes before having one. I don't like sports drinks anyway but I thought that was interesting to know. She said that the sports drinks have been linked to increases in tooth decay.

Anyway, after our chit-chat, we got down to business. I had been having terrible pain on the bottom left side of my jaw and it was realy sensitive to hot and cold. I thought I must have a cavity. Dr. Sharifa took a look and showed me with the mini video camera that I actually had a split in one of my molars and that was why it was so sensitive. It was in a tooth that was already filled when I was a kid so she said that she would remove the amalgam filling and replace it was a tooth coloured filling and fill the crack also.

She gave me the dreaded local anaesthetic injections and while she waited for my mouth to go numb she gave me a scale and polish. By the time she had finished, I was drooling so I assumed the anaesthetic had kicked in! Out came the drill and away went the amalgam. She used a clamp to pull my tooth together so she could fill the crack properly. She set the filling with UV light and after some filing, I was done. All in all it took about an hour. I walked out feeling like half my head was made out of marshmallows.

By the time I got home it was 3pm. I was completely exhausted and hungry but the numbness made eating a bit of a challenge. Let's just say that my crumpets with vegemite ended up mainly on the side of my face - not a good look.

I was so exhausted that I fell asleep on the couch and just woke up as Ross came home around 6. I was feeling a bit sorry for myself with a sore tooth, foot, thumb, finger and lip so Ross made me chilli con carne and then ran me a bath. The anaesthic had completely worn off by then and I had a massive headache which I also nursed with laying in the bath.

I was in bed by 8.30pm... exhausted!

Today's photo is of the lilies that I bought from Chinatown now starting to open up.

A fairly active Sunday

This morning Ross and I woke up and headed straight out to the driving range in Ampang to hit some balls. We both had a lot of fun doing this together. I think we will make this a regular weekend activity. 12 ringgit for 100 balls and you can just show up to the driving range - bargain! I also had a go at a few of the other clubs. The irons were fine but the fairway wood was a completely different feel and although I could hit the ball, it didn't go very straight.

We did have to laugh as some little bloke donned a motorcycle helmet, jumped in a dinghy and headed out on the lake with a net to collect the balls as around 50 people continue to hit them at him! Another classic was his mate who was on the island in between the two lakes holding an umbrella in one hand and a net to scoop up the balls in another. Safety First!

We'd worked up an appetite by this time so we drove to Delicious at Dua for breakfast. I had waffles with baked bananas and Ross had a crab omelette - yum! We drove home and surprisingly we both forced ourselves to go to the gym for about an hour. It was a good workout and I'm glad we went because otherwise we wouldn't have gone all day.

After the gym, we went back upstairs, changed into our togs, grabbed our pool lounges and headed back downstairs to the pool. We floated about for an hour or so - lovely! Back upstairs and after a shower, we spent the afternoon doing things around the house. Ross finally cleaned the BBQ which was disgusting and I continued on the iTunes library - yep, still not finished.

By about 5 o'clock we were pretty hungry having had no lunch so we had an early dinner of Weight watchers Korma (curry) with the leftover chicken from last night. It was pretty good but obviously nowhere near as tasty as the real thing with all the ghee and oil!

Ross wanted to pick up a couple of things from the shops so we drove to Pavillion. After a stop at the bookstore, we grabbed a coffee and wandered around the sports stores. I desperately needed a new pair of trainers to give my feet more support so I ended up buying a pair of Asiics - they a brilliant! We actually found a helpful sales assistant who measured my feet and looked at my arches to recommend the right shoes. I'll let you know how they go.

It was also the last day of their sale so I picked up another pair of workout shorts, a gym top and some socks for 40% off - bargain. Pity the shoes weren't discounted although Ross did try and get one.

All in all a really good Sunday. I think we will both tumble into bed tonight.

The photo is of Black and Blue being bookends on the bar. We came home from golf to find them like this - too funny.

Health and Fitness Check:

Weight: 71.6kg - obviously have hit a plateau :-(

Exercise:
- Driving range: 60 + 30 + 45 mins
- Walking (including FRIM): 40 + 70 + 35 mins
- Elliptical trainer: 20 mins
- Weight machines: 20 mins
- Netball: 60 mins

*Milestone: lost 5cm on my waist, lost 5.5cm on my chest, lost 2cm on my thighs, lost 2cm on my arms in 7 weeks and dropped one dress size! (But put 1cm on my hips - go figure?!)

Dragonboats

We had a slow start to the day this morning after the relatively late night last night. Ross cooked bacon and eggs for brunch about 11am. I remembered that the Dragon Boat festival was on in Putrajaya so we showered and took to the road.

We had never been to Putrajaya before so we entrusted the GPS to get us there. Stupid machine wasn't working properly so we had to rely on our memories and the highway signs but we found it city pretty easily. Putrajaya is a "planned" city a bit like Canberra with a lot of government ministries etc. It is a unique city in its architecture as well. However, today, there weren't many people around - don't know if this is the norm or not.

We drove around for a while trying to find the dragon boats and luckily we heard an advert on the radio telling us which precinct it was in. After that it was pretty easy to find. We parked the car and walked down the the huge man-made lake system where the races were being held. We worked out that we had missed most of the races as they had happened in the morning but we had about 45 minutes to wait until the last three races of the day.

We wandered about the stalls and across the other side of the lake where there was a newly opened resort called Pullmans. It seemed empty but looked beautiful. While we were walking along the promenade, a little ferry pulled up to dock and we realized that this was the scenic lake tour boat. Something we need to try next time. We also saw that there was a bike path that ran throughout Putrajaya. It would be great to bring the bikes down, ride for a while and have a picnic by the lake.

We walked back to the grandstand and took our seats for the final races. They were all pretty close and actually quite interesting to watch. I was amazed how fit these guys and girls were! They certainly made it look easy however I am sure that it is not!

After the races we left Putrajaya and drove to 1 Utama to buy snorkels and fins for our trip to Langkawi next weekend. We had some lunch first at a groovy sushi place called... Sushi Groove :-) Excellent sushi! We picked up a Starbucks and wandered amongst the throngs of people trying to find the scuba shop that we remembered seeing.

We found it and bought some decent masks, snorkels and fins. While we were looking for the scuba store, we came across a home improvements shop where we found a great shower head - almost like a rain shower I guess. So we bought it! On the way out, we did a hit and run at Cold Storage to pick up some essentials. By the time we left 1 Utama it was already 7pm - incredible!

We were home by 7.30, installed the new shower head to enjoy a shower, made a chicken salad for dinner and vegged in front of the Saturday Night footy match - Brisbane vs Carlton.

Spending the day with friends

Today started with netball in the morning. I went to Julia's place to pick her up and had a coffee first with her and Phil (it was a holiday today). Julia and I drove to netball and played for an hour - my god it was hot! I played one quarter as center and it almost killed me!

As usual we went to Fogel's for breakfast afterwards with a few of the netball girls. They really are such a nice bunch of girls! Julia and I left them and headed back to her place to shower and change. We had another coffee with Phil before leaving to drive to Chinatown.

Julia took me to Jenny's bag shop - a high-class knock off place where the bags are made from leather rather than PVC that you find in Chinatown. It was obviously a popular place to shop as it was full of expats buying bags and wallets to take back home for summer. I was suprised by home many French women were there - I didn't think they would go in for the fakes! The bags aren't cheap but they are really good quality. I found a couple that I liked but she was so busy we couldn't be bothered waiting so we left. But at least now I know where the shop is.

From there we headed into Petaling Street. Julia was looking for a gift for her friends daughter and I was looking for a couple of polo shirts for Ross. We found what we were looking for and wandered around a bit longer before going to Peter Ho's with the intention of having a look around and something to drink. On our way to Peter Ho's we came across a small fruit and veg stall selling fresh lychees - as you can see from the photo, Julia was pretty excited to find them :-)

Peter Ho's was packed also. I guess being Friday people have a longer lunch break and because it is almost summer, everyone is out to buy gifts to take home. We couldn't get a seat for a drink so we just wandered about the shop. I spotted some lovely lamps that I think I will take Ross back to have a look at. I also bought a pair of unusual silver earrings. They are very chunky but I really like them.

On the way bacck to the car, we stopped at the florist and I picked up a couple of bunches of tiger lilies that were mostly in bud so hopefully they will open up over the next week or so.

I drove Julia home and headed back to Stonor. I relaxed on the bed for an hour or two before Ross came home from work and joined me. Sonja called and said they would like to meet up and go out for dinner and some drinks. They came over about 6.30 and we had a margarita before walking over to Jalan Raja Chulan for dinner.

We ate at the Argentinian steak house. The food was pretty good as was the service. But I do think the steaks we bought from the dodgy Chinese butcher were just as good if not better. We had a couple more drinks there before walking to the Trader's hotel for a cocktail. As the boys were in shorts and thongs, we sat upstairs which was actually a better view than by the pool anyway and quieter. Sonja had a Lychee Rose, a vodka martini with lychee, rose water and vodka - very nice and one that we will try and replicate at our bar. I had a Selangor Sling - a variation on the Singapore Sling. And I can't remeember the name of Brian's drink but it was something Negro?? Ross had a Long Island Ice Tea.

We walked back to Stonor and had a final night cap at our place while watching the Broncos game. Sonja and Brian left about midnight and we fell into bed after a great night with good friends. Sonja and the kids leave on Sunday night for 6 and a half weeks - I will miss her company!

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.

No snakes today

FRIM this morning went well. Julia, Sonja and I walked it the other way - man it was steep! I didn't realise how easy we had been doing it until now! Anyway, we survived the walk with no incidents - no snakes today.

We went for breakfast at a cafe called Marmalade in Plaza Mont Kiara. I had the museli parfait which was sensational! The other girls meals looked great too - eggs benedict and wholemeal pancakes. After breakfast we popped by Elleke's house as she and a couple of other girls were selling some of their wares - jewellery, Thai cutlery, sarongs, other bits and pieces. Sonja bought a couple of things. We only stayed for a short time before leaving to drop Julia off for home.

Sonja ad I drove back to Stonor. We both went to our apartments to change into our swim suits and then met downstairs to float about in the pool making the most of the sunny days we have been having lately.

Ross came home dead on 5.30pm to watch the first State of Origin match (as you can see by the photo). We made steak and onion wraps and watched the game. Obviously he was pretty pleased by the results!

We had a pretty early night as we were both exhausted!

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.

Golf lesson 2

This morning I woke up really late - 9.45am! But just in time to shower and walk over to KLCC to go to the medical center to have the thing on my foot looked at. Yep, exciting stuff! I had been to the GP before and he told me it was as corn but the dermatologist told me that it was a Verruca (wart) - gross! He froze it but I need to go back next week to freeze it again.

After the doctor, I went to Dome for breakfast and to catch up on my blog from the time in Singapore. This took me a couple of hours and before I knew it, it was 1pm. I walked home, did a few chores and then drove out to Ampang for my second golf lesson.

I met Sonja on the driving range and my coach Eric let us warm up by ourselves. Today, I didn't feel as good as I did last week. I was hitting them but not well. He videoed my swing and I could see that it looked all 'floppy' compared to what I was doing last week. He took me through my backswing again and after that I was away. I spent the rest of the hour trying to consistently hit the ball. I think by the end I was sending the balls in the same place about 80% of the time. It's amazing, when you feel it, it becomes easier to replicate it time and again.

After our lesson, Sonja and I went to Delicious for afternoon tea. It was fantastic! Sandwiches, biscuits, scones, strawberries with chocolate dipping sauce and your choice of any cake from the display (we had lemon meringue pie) with a pot of tea. We caught up on the last few days for a couple of hours before heading home.

Ross was home when I got there and headed down to the gym. We didn't do too much in the evening.

A lazy Sunday in Singapore

Again we slept in and spent the morning relaxing in bed catching up on the news. About 11am we ventured out of the room for brunch. Yesterday in our travels we came across the PS Cafe in one of the malls. They offered a great sounding brunch with sausages, wholemeal french toast and fruit compote - yum! We enjoyed our brunch with fresh juices and despite the presence of a fuzzy (aka mouldy!) strawberry on Ross' plate, it was really good.

We had a few hours to kill before heading to the airport so again we headed all the way up to the other end of Orchard Road and discovered a few new malls that we didn't see yesterday. It was a pretty hot day so we were glad to get back to the hotel, get our bags and jump in a taxi.

At the airport, we debated getting a foot massage but decided instead on sushi, coffee and relaxing on the couches in the movie area while doing the WW crossword. Time flew by and before we knew it we were on the plane on our way back to KL.

We landed in KL to a massive lightning storm. After a bit of duty free alcohol shopping, we headed to the Skybus again for the journey home. It was pretty cool being on the bus in the dark while the lightning crashed around us. Once at Sentral Station, we avoided the taxi touts and headed upstairs to catch a legitimate taxi home.

Despite being only a 4 hour drive away, it had taken us 6 and a half hours to get home. I think we will drive next time! But it was a great weekend break.

Health and Fitness Check:

Weight: 71.4kg

Exercise:
- Walking: 40 mins on treadmill, 40 mins at FRIM and hours in Singapore!
- Jogging: 18 mins
- Walking up hill (FRIM): 30 minutes
- Golf lessons: 1 hour
- Weight machines: 45 minutes

The hazards of going to see outdoor theatre in a tropical climate!

We slept in this morning and stayed in bed watching TV until our hunger got the better of us. We walked to Coffee Bean and I had an amazing muesli parfait - I wish they served this in KL!

The rest of the day was spent walking up and down Orchard again deciding on what to buy from our reconnaissance yesterday. Ross ended up buying about 6 work shirts and 2 pairs of trousers for less than $400 which I thought was pretty good. I bought three beautiful leather belts - they were just so different I had to have them :-). We also bought a couple of foldable duffle bags that we thought would come in handy for all our traveling. They fold right down and can easily fit into a suitcase for extra storage.

We had lunch at Food Republic, an awesome Asian food court. In the afternoon, Ross had had enough of shopping so he went back to the apartment and I soldiered on for a couple more hours. We had a brief rest before heading out for dinner at Cuppage Terrace, a great little spot with a bunch of restaurants and bars just around the corner from the hotel. We ate a quick meal at the Mexican restaurant before getting in a cab and heading to Fort Canning Park to go and see Much Ado About Nothing in the park.

I had booked VIP seats and I am glad we did as it had been raining lightly all evening so the grass was saturated. We sat up on a raised platform on chairs! When we arrived, the support crew were on the stage mopping away trying to get it dry for the performance which was supposed to start at 7.30pm. At about 8pm it started to pour down again! A lot of people left and the poor support crew looked pretty frustrated after almost having the stage ready.

Ross and I made the most of it by enjoying our two complimentary glasses of wine while the rest of the audience either left, sat under their umbrellas or made a dash under the trees (see photo). The director came out about 20 mimutes later once the rain had eased and said the show would start at 8.30pm. Brilliant!

The show was great. Really funny. I didn't know the play before but it was pretty simple to follow once you got the characters straight. The synopsis in the program also helped :-). The rain held off for the rest of the performance. In the second half after interval, you could hear a band in the background belting out Coldplay's latest hit. At first, I kinda thought it was part of the play but we soon realised that there must be a nightclub not far away with a live band so the serious, emotional second half was accompanied by such classics as Eye of the Tiger and Don't Stand So Close to Me - pretty funny really! The actors did well to continue despite the distraction.

It was a great night out despite the rain and we got back to the hotel just before midnight.

Shopping!

This morning Ross got up and went into the Singapore office for a few hours. I tried to catch up on a bit of last night's lost sleep before tackling the management about moving rooms (which they did without any problems).

After moving all our stuff, I headed out for coffee and to wander around the shops until Ross met me just before lunch time. We had lunch at Subway and spent the afternoon walking up and down Orchard Road hunting for bargains due to the discounts for the shopping festival.

In the evening, we caught the MRT to City Hall and walked to the Raffles Hotel for what else but a Singapore Sling on the patio - very civilised (see photo)! The cocktail was delicious and we will definitely attempt to make them back in KL. Back on the MRT again and this time we got off at Clarke Quay and had dinner at Breworks - a cool gastropub with good pub food and beers brewed on the premises. I had the Wombat burger complete with beetroot, pineapple and an egg! What I really liked was the fact that they offered two sizes of burgers - the small one was more than enough. Ross opted for the baby-back ribs that were also great.

After walking all day, we were exhausted (again) so rather than catch the train we jumped in a cab to take us back to the hotel and fell into bed exhausted. At least there was no noise or neon tonight!

Getting ready for Singapore

This morning started with me going to the gym for a good long workout. I finished, had a shower and drove out to Ikano Power Center to pay for the Robert Rainford tickets at BBQ King. While I was all the way out there, I thought I might as well duck in for a 90-minute full body massage at The Circle. I had been so sore from golf/ gym that the massage felt fantastic if not painful as she worked out all the knots in my shoulders. I walked out of there feeling sore but in a good way.

In the Ikano mall, the KL Bird Park had set up an exhibition with a few of their birds. It was pretty neat with a mini rainforest set up inside the mall. They also had a few birds there that you could hold.

At home, I spent the rest of the afternoon deciding what to pack. Ross came home just after 4 and we caught a taxi to Sentral Station to connect with the Skybus to LCCT. It was the first time we had caught the bus and for 9 ringgit, the hour long journey wasn't too bad. Not as quick as the KLIA train but still it was pretty painless.

We arrived really early at the airport and spent some time looking around the terminal and having some dinner at Coffee Bean. As usual with Air Asia, the plane took off on time and we landed in Singapore 50 minutes later. The line at immigration was huge (see photo) and it seemed everything was slowed down due to the swine flu. I would say 30% of people in the queue were wearing face masks.

We finally got through immigration, found our bags and hopped in a taxi after explaining to the driver to take us to Somerset on Orchard. He seemed to know where he was going but he took us to a different hotel. We drove around for another 30 minutes asking night security guards and looking up the address on Ross' Blackberry before we finally found the right place. There are too many hotels, roads etc with the name Somerset in Singapore!

We checked into the apartment where they had arranged rose petals in the shape of a heart on the bed and also put petals in the bath. I always tell hotels now that we are on a romantic getaway and they usually do something - a free bottle of wine, robes, massages. Its pretty neat really :-)

We were exhausted after a long day and tumbled into bed only to be kept awake half the night by construction noise and bright neon lights from the mall across the road shining in our faces! not good!

A pretty exciting day

This morning started like any other Wednesday with Sonja, Julie and I heading to FRIM. Every week we go through the same thing - they keep charging us different prices to get into the park. Today, I just drove straight through with everyone else who seemed to be doing the same thing.

We walked up the hill and I was really struggling today. So much for thinking this was getting easier last week! On our walk back down the long path, we were suprised to come across a snake. Not just any snake, a blue coral snake which is pretty rare, nocturnal and highly venomous! Sonja almost jumped out of he skin as we almost stepped on the thing! She screamed, pretty much jumped on my back, and ran about 500m before turning around. In this time, Julia and I watched the snake writh in reaction to Sonja running and I did have a brief moment of concern when the snake almost looked like it was going strike out at us. Luckily it slithered back into the undergrowth. The photo is not a photo I took, but when we got home I did a bit of research to find out what snake it was. Someone else took this photo of the same type of snake but it was also taken in Malaysia. I emailed FRIM to confirm if these snakes do live there - we'll wait and see. The only other snake I could find that looked simiilar and was found in Malaysia was more black and far more elusive so I doubt we saw that one. This snake was definately bright blue with a red tail and head - amazing!

After our adventure and laughing heartily at Sonja, we went for breakfast and then headed home. I did a few things around the house before Sonja picked me up to head out for my first golf lesson. We went out to the 9-hole course in Ampang where I met Eric our instructor. Sonja had already been taking lessons for a couple of months whereas this was the first time I had picked up a golf club properly.

Eric was an excellent instructor and once he showed me the proper grip and stance, I was managing to hit almost every ball into the water from the driving range. He also videod my swing to show me a comparison with a pro and he was really suprised that my swing had most of the same characteristics. I was pretty pleased with myself when he said I had a natural ability and that he had a lot to work with. It was interesting how I would lose my swing after a while but when Eric held the club up the right way and I felt the difference, I could easily replicate what he had shown me and hit the ball with no worries. And when you hit that thing right it really goes!

I had a blast! I actually didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I did. I will definitely be continuing lessons with Eric. I think Ross would also like lessons with him as he is a great instructor and from Brisbane :-)

Sonja dropped me home and I got busy preparing dinner as Sonja, Brian and the kids were coming over. I roasted some veggies and made a couscous salad and roasted two chickens. Sonja brought baked potatoes and corn on the cob. It was really nice to just sit down and have a quiet dinner with everyone - something that I had been meaning to do for ages as I tend to invite myself to there's if Ross is not around.

A great day - but now I am completely exhausted - in a good way!

A flat day (post-ball depression)!

Pffftttt.... what a day! Today was pretty miserable. I wasn't really motivated to do anything. I tried to go to the doctor about the corn on my foot but of course the dermatologist only works Mon, Wed, Fri. Sonja came over to KLCC to meet me and we had some breakfast at Coffee Bean. We were both a bit flat after all the excitement of the ball on the weekend - no dresses, accessories, shoes to buy.

After breakfast we wandered around aimlessly for an hour or so before Sonja's friend Sheree joined us for another coffee at the Coffee Bean. We talked a lot about their teenage kids and other things. We left Sheree and I went with Sonja out to ISKL (the American School) to drop off something at the library and then we went to Great Eastern Mall to do food shopping - joy!

Back at home, we both left and I was feeling pretty flat. When Ross got home, I was pretty keen to do something to change my mood so we cooked up a quick stir-fry which we ate before heading over to Pavillion to watch Night at the Museum II at the Gold Class cinemas. I love Gold Class here with the leather recliners and the doonas (as you can see in the pic).

I went to bed feeling a bit better.

Planning and researching

Today I spent the day doing two things:

- Researching ways to stop the cats scratching the couches (which you can see in the photo!)
- Looking at accommodation options for our trip up the coast of WA

I was reasonably successful with the first one. I sprayed a citrus scented leather spray on the couches and tried to clip the cats' nails (easy with Black - not so much with Blue!). I also ordered SoftPaws, plastic nail covers kind of like false nails. The are 'glued' over the nails so that they cannot scratch things. I figure I will check both cats into the vet, put them under anaesthetic, have the vet clean their teeth and also apply the false nails. I also looked into portable cat tunnels so that they can be outside without escaping. I came across some in the states and have asked Sonja to bring one back with her if she can. So reasonably successful I think.

The second one was not too easy! I finally figured out that we were traveling to WA exactly at the same time as school holidays. Of course this means that all the caravan parks up the coast are pretty much fully booked. I spent hours researching what parks were around, sending emails, logging responses, narrowing down options etc. We had success in some locations but it looks pretty bad in others so we may have to look at other types of accommodation. I was sick of looking at it all by this stage!

Not much else going on today.

Relaxing

This morning we woke up late and enjoyed lazing around the room for a few hours before having to check out. We went up to the club lounge to check out and had a little snack while waiting for our bill. I took today's photo from our room looking down on the pool.

From the hotel we drove out to IKEA to look at a rotisserie for the BBQ that I had seen when I was last there. We had some lunch at Dome and went to the pet store to see what puppies were there before going back to the BBQ store to pick up the rotisserie. While we were there, the lady asked us if we wanted to go to a workshop and dinner by Robert Rainford, a TV chef who does 'License to Grill' - a show that I love because he cooks EVERYTHING on the BBQ. So we put our names down for some tickets.

We drove home, dropped our stuff and headed to the pool to relax and cool off for an hour or so. Once upstairs again, we pretty much did nothing for the rest of the afternoon and night. It was a great anniversary weekend!

Health and fitness check:

Weight: 71.9 kg

Exercise:

- Elliptical trainer: 90 mins
- Strengthening workout (light weights): 30 mins
- FRIM (walking uphill and flat): 70 mins
- Weight machines: 50 mins

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11th Wedding Anniversary and MANZA Charity Ball

I woke up early this morning not feeling 100% after all the food and wine last night. I felt alright - just not perfect ;-). I went out to the living room to read my book while Ross slept for a couple more hours.

Once he woke up, I gave Ross his surprise, a framed photo from our wedding. It was a photo that we had always spoken about having enlarged and so when I was in Adelaide in February, I finaly managed to track down the photographer and get a print. I had it framed here in KL which was cheaper and easier than having it done in Aus. The photo is of us with a brass band all in red jackets. We stumbled across these guys as we walked through the Adelaide uni grounds and so the photo is very impromtu. It was one of our favourites. Ross loved it.

After this, we went to the Club Lounge for breakfast. We had forgotten the tickets for the ball tonight so after breakfast we headed home to pick them up. As we pulled back into the hotel, Ross dropped me off so I could pick up a Starbucks from the train station.

We relaxed for while reading the papers before deciding on a bit of pool time. The pool is shared with the Hilton hotel which is just next door - an interesting concept! It was pretty hot but we stayed down there getting a bit of sun and floating about for an hour or so.

By the time we got up to our room, I was hungry again. We ordered room service and after I polished off my half a burger and half a salad, I headed to bed for an afternoon nap before the big event tonight.

I woke up, had a shower and drove to Pavillion to begin the beautification process. First was hair. Chris did something a bit different today and I wasn't too struck on it at first but it did grow on me. Sonja joined me at the salon from just having acrylic nails put on. Her guy swept her hair into a french twist/ mini beehive style which although looked a bit out of place with her jeans and T-shirt also looked good when her dress was on.

From the salon we went downstairs to MAC to meet Maya for our makeup. I went first and Maya decided to try out the smoky look on my eyes. As she was putting on layer upon layer of grey, black and blue/black shadow on and under my eyes, I could see this was going to be a pretty dramatic look for me - not something I would ever normally do. But hey, with the hair already out there and the dress being pretty dramatic I thought I would go with it. Complete with pastel pink lipstick, I went to see how Sonja was getting on with her guy Steven. He went for a more classic look with her with dusty pink eyes but bright pink/red lips - also very dramatic for her.

We both felt a bit stupid walking out in our civi's to the car and were glad when we got to the hotel room so we could frock up. Phil, Julia and Brian were already there with Ross and the white wine was cracked - thank god because Sonja and I were desperate for a drink after all the primping and priming!

We got ready and it all came together - hair, makeup, dress. We finished up our wine and went downstairs for a quick photo as a group before heading to the ball next door at the Hilton. As you can see from the photo, we're a pretty interesting looking group :-)

Once we went upstairs to the ballroom, we were surrounded by hundreds of others all with their glad rags on too. We sipped champagne as we waited for Simon and Rima and the other two couples who were on our table. Everyone looked wonderful and it was so nice to be at an event where everyone was dressed up for a change.

Inside the ballroom, the room was decorated in Casino Royale theme complete with huge foam dice, roulette wheel and the old Bond movie - Casino Royale playing on the big screens. The table even had confetti on it in the shape of dice, the different card suits and dollar signs - very nifty. All I could think is that someone had to go around to each table and sprinkle that stuff out - what a job!

The evening starting with a lady singing the Malaysian, Australian (2 verses!) and Kiwi (including Maori) national anthems. She was pretty damn good too! This was followed by the obligatory speeches and thank yous from the MANZA committee members but thankfully these were kept pretty short and sweet.

The food came pretty fast (as did the wine :-)) and by the time the second course soup was served, the dancefloor was packed - always a good sign for the night ahead! The meal was really good - lamb shanks for mains followed by chocolate dice cakes with icecream for dessert.

The rest of the night was spent talking, dancing, taking photos, drinking and before we knew it, it was 1.30am! Ross and I left leaving only Julia and Phil standing from our group, everyone has piked out earlier.

As we walked next door to our hotel room, we were thankful we decided to stay! What a great night!!

First day of our anniversary weekend

This morning started with me trying to get organized for the weekend. Trying to think what to pack. Around lunchtime I walked over to Pavillion to go to the gym. I spent a good hour and a half working out (and exhausting myself!) before having a shower in time to head up to my nails appointment.

Today I went for the spa manicure/ pedicure treatment - lovely! It took around two hours and just as I was finishing, Sonja met up with me in the salon. She drove me back to Stonor where we picked up my bags and the surprise for Ross. Sonja drove me over to Le Meridian hotel so I could check in.

I checked in, we dropped the things in the room, had a quick squiz around the suite and then went to the lobby for a glass of wine. A lovely way to end the afternoon. Just after Sonja left, Ross arrived - perfect timing!

Along with the suite, we also had access to the club lounge so we chilled in the room until 6.30pm when the cocktail hour started in the lounge. We went two levels up from our room to Level 33 and sipped champagne as we watched the sunset over the city.

I had booked us in to the steak restaurant at the hotel, Prime. We went downstairs at about 7.30 for our reservation. The restaurant was really classy inside - all dark wood and glass with a modern but classic feel. The kitchen was all glass fronted and the high walls served as wine racks throughout the restaurant.

We skipped entrees and headed straight for a main meal. I chose the surf and turf - half a Boston lobster and a small Black Angus rib-eye. Delectable! Both the lobster and the steak came with a choice of sauces. I chose lemon-ginger for the lobster and balsamic shallot for the steak. Ross chose a Black Angus sirloin with mushroom sauce. The sauces were served on a platter in tiny copper saucepans - very cute. We also spoilt ourselves with a beautiful bottle of St Hallet Church Block Shiraz. The meal was fantastic and we still had room for desert - creme brulee (me) and decadent chocolate cake (Ross).

This was definitely the best restaurant we have beeen to in KL and we will surely be going back.

From dinner we headed back to the room and ordered a Baileys which came served on ice... with whipped cream and a cherry on top! Yep, another reminder that we live in a Muslim country. We fell into bed full and satisfied - a great start to our weekend.

A day off

I woke up tired this morning and contemplated rolling over and going back to sleep once Ross left but instead, I was motivated to get out of bed and sit on the couch to watch the American Idol finale live. What a show! It was an amazing finale with Queen Latifah, Keith Urban, Fergie, Black Eyed Peas, Lionel Ritchie, Kiss, Rod Stewart, Queen, Jason Mratz, Steve Martin and Cindy Lauper.

I was also quite happy to see Kris win as Adam had started getting on my nerves with all his theatrics. I pretty much spent the rest of the morning researching places to stay in Perth and Broome. Of course, the two weeks we are going is also WA school holidays so it is going to be a bit of a nightmare organizing things and we may not be able to hire our 4WD now.

I finally showered just before lunch and Ross came home so we could eat the leftovers of last night's Korean pancake. After lunch, I tried again to look at hotels with no luck - I just couldn't make up my mind and everything is so expensive in Perth!

I got sick of looking at the computer so I tidied up the house, did a few chores and made some sushi for dinner (see photo). Ross came home early as he was jack of work so he decompressed by telling me about his day over a quiet bourban.

He had been invited to play cards by Dan, the guy we met at the Oilman's Ball last Friday so I drove him over to KLCC around 7.30. I spent the rest of the night trying to tidy up my iTunes library - slowly getting there but what a mess!

Ross came home just before midnight as I was turning my light off. I am trying to finish the last book in the Twilight series and although this last one is better than the previous two, I am still wading through it. Ross told me about his night and how he was smoking cigars (rare for Ross!) and he sounded like he had a great night. I promptly fell unconscious...