Family Holiday in Wuyishan

Wuyi Mountain in Fujian, China

Gorgeous scenery ya.. This is where I'll be going for a family holiday this weekend till early next week. Don't really know much about it and plan to read up a bit before flying off on Saturday!

It'll also be the first time since our studying days that the four of us - dad, mom, sis and me - go on a holiday together! Since she got hitched quite soon after and it's always with bro-in-law and then the kids too.. it'll be kinda dejavu hehe..

I have a few more holidays in plan after this.. Hong Kong end of next month to celebrate Miu Miu and Sean's birthdays; the Rainforest Music Fest, and hopefully Bali too.. before a one-month missions work stint in Kunming, China in September. More on that later..

Meanwhile, am looking forward to the fantasy-like scenery of Wuyi Mountain.. hopefully i'll be inspired enough to blog about it too!!

Jojo's approaching old age.. :(

Today I brought Jojo to the vet for his annual vaccination. The nice lady vet petted his head and said: `oh, Jojo's getting old.. can see white fur growing.."

Ohhhh... ! It suddenly hit me that Jojo ain't young anymore. :(

(errr.. can you spot any white fur on his brow?)

He'll turn six in June. For a large breed dog, that's half the lifespan..

The vet then asked me about his movements.. Well, to be honest, I was getting a bit concerned as I noticed he likes to sit down much more than standing up.. And sometimes when I play with him, he would take opportunity to rest and sit.. although he still could run pretty fast!!

The vet said I should start giving him supplements for the joints. I asked if it's necessary to start now as he's actually more in middle-age than old age. But she said it's better to prevent than cure and also because of his large size.. in fact, he's showing some signs of weak hips and thigh..

Of course I wanted the best for my dear Jojo.. so I heeded her advice and bought a bottle of supplements! But little did I expect that it is so expensive!! Even much more than human vitamins/supplements!

It was priced at RM305.90 and she rounded it off at RM300. Ouch! But it will last four months..

I know it's only natural that any living beings would grow old but I always have this fear of my dogs entering old age.. especially after watching Marley&Me. I dread to think of the day I'll have to face Jojo and Jelly in deteriorating conditions that eventually lead to their deaths... I don't know how I am going to take it.. :((

Sigh.. But in the mean time, I know I must be a good mommy and give them all my love and also take care of their welfare to the best..

Here are the two Js in pensive moods

And by the dining table while I was eating! :)

The Good Old Cross..

Today is Good Friday, it's the day when..

.. our Lord Jesus Christ suffered an agonising death on the Cross
.. He loved us so much that He took our sins and nailed it to the Cross
.. the history of mankind was rewritten, as we were reconciled to God again
...the sinless, holy Son of God died for all sinners - you and I
.. I shall forever cherish and cling on to the Cross, for what my Lord and Saviour has done..


THE OLD RUGGED CROSS

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suffering and shame;
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.

O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For 'twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.

To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then He'll call me some day to my home far away,
Where His glory forever I'll share.

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.

Words & Music: George Bennard, 1913

Amazing Awesome Adam

Presenting the next American Idol - Adam Lambert!



Yup, mark my word.

He is by far the most talented and a bomb of a performer.. Adam is in a league of his own. Not that others aint good but he is just far superior.

He has superb showmanship, and that's complemented by really amazing vocal as well..On top of it, this man simply exudes charisma and charm... a true artiste at heart, and a versatile one too!

One week, we would see him dressed up in punk-rock style belting and dancing to `I Can't Get No Satisfaction' or `Black & White'; and then he would suddenly turn into a demure gentleman crooning the most heart-felt and haunting tunes of `Tracks of My Tears' or `Mad World'. He even took the risk to present his own daring love-it-or-hate-it Middle-eastern sensual version of `Ring of Fire'.

Whatever songs, whatever genre or style he sang, he did them with such aplomb that the performance just stood out among the rest. So much so even the cynical Simon Cowell would give him a standing ovation!

Gosh, I can't help but admire such sheer talent! He is miles better than many established recording artistes out there! And it helps that he's pretty cute.

(ok, so certain `evidences' may point to his curious sexual preference.. but gay or straight, what really wow us is him the singer/artiste)

I can shower praises on and on. 'Coz ya, I have a confession to make.. I'm totally obsessed with Adam Lambert! For so many nights, I've been browsing YouTube, Googling and scanning Amercian Idol website just to listen to him, watch his video and read news about him..

Call me biased if you wish, but I also have met many others who aren't crazy about him yet could not deny that he's simply brilliant

So, thank you Adam Lambert, American Idol Season 8 is so much more a pleasure and excitement to watch just because of you.

Getting There.. :)

It's been quite a long hiatus - two weeks and two days to be exact! It is a record for me in my 3-year-11-months of blogging, and I really thought I have lost it totally and couldn't blog again..

And then, I suddenly had the inspiration to blog while I was in gym this evening. Regrettably, it had even been a longer hiatus as far as gym is concerned. The last time I went was before Chinese New Year!

I was really not motivated and wanted to skip again but then I couldn't go home since I had a class this evening at church.. I made myself go and I ended up wishing I had longer time!!

Due to time constraint, what I did was 20 minutes of cardio, 5 minute of sit-up and 5 minutes of stretching. That's all.

And it was while I was doing stretching in front of the mirror that I felt I have achieved something pretty significant.. I no longer cringe when I look into the mirror!!

In the past, I just hated to look at the layers of fat around my midriff.. Every time I looked into the mirror sitting down stretching, I was reminded how I really need to lose weight. Well, I have been on this `program' for almost two months now.. and I must say the results are showing!

Okay, I'm definitely not trim and slim but my top had even became so lose that I could hardly see those bulges on my tummy!

For the record, I have lost 7.5kg (around 17 pounds) so far... my waistline alone has drop about 7cm (2 3/4 inch.) :))

So how did I do it? Well, there's no secret. I had admitted that losing weight is a real battle for me for I really lack will-power and discipline and simply love to eat! Although i knew the theoretical side of dieting and all, I found it so hard to do it.

The last straw was when I tried to put on my jeans one night and found out that ALL of them were too tight to even buckle up! I really had ballooned up over the festive season, and I knew I had to do something about it.

So the next day, I signed up for a slimming course at a new centre - not a well known one but I went because the person in charge there knows a lot about the slimming industry and they have very advanced machines as well as great variety of treatments.

Of course, you only need to sacrifice time for the treatments BUT you need a lot of discipline and will power to follow the diet.. and to my amazement, I did.

First I was put on a detox diet where my food consumption were limited to fish, eggs, oats, salad vegetables and fruits. That went on for more than a week and then I was allowed to have seafood, tofu and other types of vegetables.. and it's not really rigid, when I was away at camp, i could have lean meat too.

I guess how I could survive with the diet was that I'm encouraged to be creative with the meals.. and they even gave suggestions. I can have vegetable soup, fish in oat porridge and cawan mushi (steamed egg) for instance. Only thing I have spent quite a lot extra to buy vegetables, fruits and fish.

Anyway.. all this paid off as I noticed my weight and inches gradually dropping.. I could wear those jeans again, and some of my clothes became lose even! And people also noticed.

Just now in fact, a group of ladies from church `cornered' me and were so amazed how I managed to lose weight. So I told them honestly..

I'm glad that by now I feel I am comfortably in handling my diets these days. I can actually eat most food, but in smaller quantity of course. Of course I still have to avoid the real fattening ones like deep fried stuff and fats..

I'm only about half-way through the treatments.. and I still plan to lose more.. at least another 5kg! Trust me, I was really quite overweight so I would still not be averagely-slim after that!!

Let me lose a little more and then I shall pose some (narcissitic) pix.. hehe.. :p