Working, Running...and A Death

This week is one of those rare weekends where I have to dedicate my time for work.

With a bottle of water to keep me hydrated and a good scenery out the window, get set, go! * I threw in a Chelsea bear as a prop ;) *

Normally my weekends are filled by reading good books, watch TV, read the Sunday newspapers, surfing, going out with mom/bro/sis, eat out, shopping, etc. I want my normal weekend back!

Also, earlier today I ran a 6.5km PSDC Charity Marathon. And I finished it in 55mins! Not bad hor....for someone who doesn't train that consistently? Hehe. And that includes about 10mins walking here and there...pancit lah wei...Though I respect those people who can run all the way till the finishing line. Mula2 memang malas nak bangun pagi, I woke up at 5.55am and heard slight thunder far away, I fervently wish it would rain so I would have a valid reason not to go :P But then my friend, Bing sent me a text: -

"Arise my champion! The time is nigh to show thy powess strength and be known in the running field of PSDC. When thou art near, give thine call unto me"

Tu dia. Amik hang. Macam Shakespeare pulak ajak aku bermarathon. Tak sampai hati nak PPK, he and some members of the team have always been motivating and supporting me to run, and to improve my running. Which reminds me, I have yet to register to be a member of the team M!racle M!ler. Ho ho.

Anyway, to keep myself motivated, I targeted a few people ahead of me. I aimed to take over that particular person, and once you took over him/her, set another target of a person ahead of you. That what keeps me going. And there are people whom you can't seem to take over, make him/her as your inspiration to keep moving. And remember, you could also be an inspiration to the people behind you.

My next marathon? Penang Bridge half marathon 26km. Boleh ka ni? Insha-Allah. Bila lagi nak berlari2 di atas jambatan tanpa gangguan kenderaan? The bridge will be closed especially for you tau!

And today I learnt the news of the death of the multi award-winning film director, Yasmin Ahmad. On Thursday she was admitted due to a stroke and haemorrhage, and was in a coma until the last moments of her life. Mari kita sama-sama sedekahkan Al-Fatihah untuk Allahyarhamah. I adore her movies, and her Petronas commercial adverts have always been very touching. She is a great storyteller. I couldn't think of any other people in the entertainment industry who could promote racial unity such as she. Semoga roh-mu dicucuri rahmat, Amin.

PS: Happy Birthday to two of my good girlfriends; Erlina and Shuhada! Semoga dipanjangkan umur dan dimurahkan rezeki selalu, insha-Allah. **HuGs & KiSsEs**

What To Look Forward To?

Since my wedding preparation is going nowhere, I don't have much to update here. And there is nothing really interesting going on in my life at the moment...that I decided to cheer myself up to look forward to the anticipated events in the near future: -

- Brother's engagement - 31st July '09
Ni tak tau la boleh pi ka tak ni...cuz this week I am in a super duper rush (not to mention big) job under managers yang suka meng"stress" and mem"press" orang. I would love to go, but then I don't think I am able to get away on Friday...huwa...nak pi Kelantan...then can survey2 barang kat Rantau Panjang tu orang cakap wedding favours are dirt cheap there...betul ke?

- Ina's wedding - 2 August '09
Insha-Allah I will be attending Ina's wedding, since I RSVP-ed a Yes. I have a feeling this will be a beautiful wedding, since all her wedding vendors gempak2 gila okay! Congrats dear!

- Zamirah's wedding - 8th August '09
Another gorgeous wedding to attend...plus I am so looking forward to meet up with the gurls! Pinky, Aimy, etc; Insha-Allah if they are attending. Gossips lagi! :D And Pinky, you promised to show me the invi card designs. FYI, Pinky is volunteering to design my wedding invi cards since she is too free (Shell mmg mcm tu ke babe?). I am excited since it'll be cool to have some personal touch in your wedding invi, tu pun Insha-Allah kalau plan menjadi la kan :) Err babe, wedding cake pun haritu you cakap nak buatkan, kan? Apa cerita eh? Last2 I buat pulut kuning je la kot hahaha.

- Bang Ide's birthday - 8th August '09
I know you will hate the idea of a surprise birthday celebration, so awal2 I bgtau kat sini no surprise OK! So as usual we'll go out for a nice dinner *tiap-tiap tahun macam tu, boring kan* Tapi takpa, it's the company that matters, kan!

- Ida's wedding - tak ingat tarikh
Sorry Ida I tak ingat tarikh wedding you!! Tu la u kena bagi I kad cepat2 ;p but I know it's a few days after raya hehe. Sudah sekian lama asyik ber"Sametime" dan ber"YM" about our wedding preparations (since both of us are getting married this year), now is the time to reap the fruits (erm...apakah?!). I know your wedding pasti gojes babe!

Wah, my calendar is so full of events, kalah calendar of a photographer nih hehe. Well there are a few more events but these are the highlights kot, at least in the next 1 mth.

And of course, the herald of the holy month of Ramadhan! Tak sabar rasanya nak tunggu ketibaan bulan yg mulia ni. Harap2 time tu my job not so hectic, so that dapat pergi solat Tarawikh *doa banyak-banyak* Insha-Allah. Talking abt Ramadhan, ada lagi 1 hari nak ganti!! Caiyok caiyok!

And Erlina, you coming over to Penang anytime soon? I am lonely here please cheer my days up with nasik kandar and jalan2 at the malls!

Anyone else who wants to fill up my boring, lonely, sad days over here up North?

Mari Beryoga

With Denise Austin, the exercise guru who has probably tried all sorts of exercises ever existed and excels at them

Thanks to my crazy and demanding job, I don't have so much time to go for my outdoor run lately. So I decided to really get serious on exercising indoors by doing yoga. You can really sweat from doing yoga you know~!

Quote: "Yoga amalan kesihatan yang diperkenalkan sekitar sejak 3,300 sebelum masihi dikatakan dapat membantu melambatkan proses penuaan, mengurangkan risiko kencing manis, darah tinggi, lelah dan penyakit berkaitan jantung".

Normally I do my yoga routines with the help of Youtube videos but the duration of the videos are rather short e.g. 8-9 mins only. There are longer duration videos but not the type of routines that I am looking for. This DVD is what I have been looking for: -

- Total Body Toning
- Lean Legs
- Flat Abs

Tapi yoga bukankah difatwakan sebagai haram? To me, if you simply do the exercises without chanting the mantras, it is perfectly fine. Come on, every morning you wake up from your sleep, you do stretch don't you? It is a form of yoga as well. Stretching your muscles when warming up for your exercises have a bit of yoga elements in them. Just hold on tight to your intention which is to improve your health and general well-being, insha Allah you will be fine.

4++ months saje lagi untuk menjadi kurus! Mari sama-sama kita melipatkan badan menjadi pretzel!

I Heart Mega Sale!

Saw a poster like this somewhere arnd the Jetty area on my way to my training last week:

Sempat fikir..."Penang ada Metrojaya ke"?

I was so excited! The whole week I could not really concentrate on my training. Even planned to skip a day to check out the sale on its first day...but so not worth losing my annual CPD (Continuing Professional Development) hours (I guess I am a pretty sensible gal ;p ). Definitely not gonna jeopardise me accountancy membership for a sale.

I do not really put on hopes too much on the clothings, perfumes or cosmetics at this sale. Maybe a wallet and belt set (for his hantaran, thus I can check the box) or a bed sheet/ comforter set for the wedding. So I went yesterday (Saturday) and excited to see that the items that I wanted are really on a good bargain! *Yay* (Not the wallet and belt set though).

So I made up my mind on the bedsheet set that I like, and made a mental note to return the day after. I saw the cashier queue, mak aih...tak sanggup aku nak tunggu turn, queue punya lah panjang OK.

So today, before 11am I sudah terpacak depan pintu. Dan membeli comforter set itu. Dan juga mendapatkan sebijik bantal percuma. *Yay again*

Sneak peek of the comforter set:

*I Heart This*

Pardon me for the low-quality pic, my lousy phone cam definitely doesn't do justice to the light brown-goldish hue.

It is made of silk but with cotton inner lining so that you will feel comfortable, I guess? The black decoration is velvet kut. Initially I wanted to go for cream-colored cotton comforter set (something English-ish) but then I do not want to spend so much on room deco. Therefore in my case now, most of the detailings and attention would come from the comforter set, I suppose? Less is always more (sigh, everyone swears by this statement nowadays). Apa pun dah beli *takmau fikir apa-apa dah*

Oh, I also managed to get the wallet and belt set (check!), but at a different location. Thanks to the nationwide Mega Sale Carnival, I do not have to burn a hole in my pocket!

KL Here I Come

...actually I was back from KL already. And this entry comes in late :D

I went to KL in order to fulfil a wedding invitation by a friend, Nora. The thought of meeting up good friends plus gossipping session, the 4-hour bus trip to and fro seems trivial. Oh, in KL also boleh saya berdating dengan tunang saya, Bang Ide :D

Too bad I did not take any pictures at the wedding (FYI, I don't own a camera other than a lousy 1.3megapixel phone cam). But it was a nice and lovely wedding, I especially like the soothing gamelan performance. Macam mana nak pi sewa gamelan nye orang ni ye? Bear in mind my reception will be in Penang...so far I have never seen any wedding reception with a gamelan performance kat Penang ni...boria ada lah :P Macam menarik saje kalau ada persembahan gamelan ni kan? Back at home I straight away downloaded some gamelan mp3. Hm maybe I can just play these mp3 rather than hire these people? *Hajah Bakhil mode*

Oh and I am so happy to go dating with Bang Ide :B

Makan banyak = happy!

We tried to do something fruitful of my visit, like went to survey for my wedding ring...but I was like in no mood for ring hunting now. But there was this really sweet ring at D&P, the design is so similar to Tiffany's dengan harga yg bukan mcm Tiffany's. Sangat cantik! Lebih kurang macam ni lah design dia...

Tapi nak survey lagi lah...

Anyway, below are some pictures from our foodie session :D Pardon me for the low qual pics ;)

Spaghetti meatballs dengan meatball yg lebih besar dari mulut Bang Ide


A very fulfilling fist-sized meatball, with a pasta portion to match

I so heart Italiannies >:D<

Bad news is, on my way back from KL my manager called with work queries enough to spoil not only my short 3-day KL trip, but at least for another month :(