So my fruit diet wasn’t really working out. Although I managed to replace breakfasts and lunches with fruits, it gets really tough at night when my tummy growled ferociously from the lack of carbs. I don’t mind being hungry but I hate being very hungry. It makes me weak and I can’t think properly. I had to give in at end and it went on like this for 4 days. But hey! Guess what? I’ve permanently lost 1 kg! That’ll do for now.
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According to the Events widget on my blog’s sidebar, I will be leaving for Singapore in 6 days. I think ‘time’ purposely pass really slow just to make the wait unbearable. Each day seems forever to end but when it really ends, the next day seems even longer than yesterday. The worst part is when ‘time’ decides to fly when I’m there. Why can’t ‘time’ slow down and make that moment last a long while for me? Just that while when I’m with my family? Pfft!
She was pawing at the laptop monitor for my attention!
Nacou startled from her sleep
Nacou sleeping
Nacou still sleeping
Nacou preparing for sleep
Nacou curling herself up into a ball
Nacou is too picky for her own good. Each time I try feed her with some new brand of canned food, she would simply sniff her plate and walk away in utter disgust, as though I’m feeding her poison. And it’s not some cheap and smelly canned food that I’m feeding her, mind you. It’s those gourmet kind that are highly recommended by vets! Yet… she refuse to eat them. Especially when there are rabbit’s meat. How in the world does she knows that there are rabbit’s meat in there?!? So there goes another 2chf worth of cat food…
Strangely enough, she only prefers Purina Gourmet. That’s the salty kind of canned food. Totally bad for cat’s health. But there’s nothing else I can do to make her eat healthy. I guess a cat really takes after their owners.
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We went up to the chalet for a weekend...
...had dinner with family and good friends...
Nacou again, this time stretching as far as she can reach
Nacou sleeping on the sofa with us. She's really everywhere I go.
Fred thinks that Nacou is a ‘broken’ ragdoll because she’s hardly ever nice and docile to him. On the other hand though, she’s a total ragdoll when she’s with me during the day. Following me around like a puppy, demanding for attention, snuggling up close to me on the sofa… So is she really broken? I’d say that she’s just used to 1 person’s attention. What do you think?
Nacou doing what she does best
I don't know what this sign means but I think the cow looks kinda cute
Went up to the chalet again for another weekend...
I've never seen a fresh raspberry!
I think this photo is awesome because it's taken by my iPhone and it looks like some DSLR shot.
Magnificent view!
Mom asked me to take photos of the grapes
Nacou again. This time she's snuggling up close to me...
Nacou in one of her many sleeping poses...
Finally got my residency permit! Comparing the photo with my NRIC... Not so many changes huh?
We went to the Rheinfall last weekend...
So many fishes! And I stupidly asked Fred, "Who put them there chéri?"
Okay, so this time the iPhone camera can't do justice to the Rheinfall...
On our way home, we stopped by the canton Schaffhausen and I decided that I liked it better than Luzern.
Wanna take a peek of our humble home?
Entrance & Dining area
Entrance & Buddha console
Dining table & my favorite lights
MY kitchen!
Hallway
Living area
Living area
Terrace
Master bedroom
This entry will end right here because I have to collect the mail, take out the trash and go to the supermarket. Oh, I wanna make macaroni goreng tonight! Tchüs!
As of this morning I weigh at exactly 55kg. Now that’s a lot for me, but I’m not saying that I’m fat. I’m simply, overweight. My BMI is on the normal range but I don’t feel healthy. Lemme try to describe how my body feels now… Let’s see… Heavy, clumsy, fleshy, sometimes achy and chubby. Ever since I moved to Zürich, I’ve gained 5kg. That’s 5kg in 6 months! Staggering!
There are, of course, plenty of changes in my body that comes with it. For instance, my face is significantly rounded and my thighs are, well, they’re bigger than usual. My arms are meatier and there are the aftermath of binge eating around my tummy. Yes. A slight bulge. God! I was never like that! What happened to me? I don’t wanna become my worse fear; a woman who gets fat after they’re married. No no no!
Let’s just say now my jeans are perfect fit these days. At this point also, I am sick and tired of feeling full all the time. Yeah, call me a glutton if you wish, it’s okay. I am one. I’ve been eating so much till it’s leaving me feeling really disgusted. Second helpings, french fries, ice-creams, chips, chocolates, candies… You name it, I had it all without feeling a single ounce of guilt. But it’s coming back to me now.
Another thing I realize about my weight gain is my lack of concentration. It seems as though my brain is not functioning as well as it used to. I get ‘blocked’ all the time; blocked in writing, blocked in thinking… Hence, turning me into a lazy bum (and lack of blog entries).
So in conjunction with my upcoming trip to Bali (I wanna frolick on the beach in teenie-weenie bikini without feeling so conscious about my flabby body), I’ve finally decided to do something about it. I am going on a ‘fruit fast’ for 7 days and that means, I am going to eat ONLY fruits (and maybe some handfuls of almonds) for 3 meals a day. My aim is to detoxify and cleanse my body from all the nasty things I’ve eaten recently. And hopefully promote some weight loss.
Do you think I could do it? I’m already at day 1!
Breakfast: a quarter of melon Snack: a handful of raisins Lunch: 2 oranges Snack: a handful of almonds and 1 carrot Dinner: pineapple Snack: a handful of raisins
Just a quick post to let you guys know that I’m still alive. No depression, no drama… I’m still here. Just taking some time off to focus on life, yoga and a new theme for the blog.
Oh! And planning for the next vacation! I’m finally jumping on the bandwagon to Bali. 25 years of life in Singapore, not once have I set a foot in the over-hyped island. All those times while my friends make numerous trips to Bali, I waited patiently for my turn. Wanna know why? Call me silly if you want, but someone mentioned to me that if an unmarried couple goes to Bali, they’re bound to break-up one day. I know. It sounds stupid but I love Fred too much and I don’t wanna be without him.
Now that we’re married, it’s a different story.
Till my next entry, I’ll leave you with some song that I’m addicted to recently…
PS: I’ve finally received my residency permit!!! Woohoo!
A day just before I left for South of France, a friend came to visit. Sabby has been to Zürich many times before but according to her, the only place that she has been is along the street where the hotel is. I couldn’t believe my ears until I came to visit. I won’t blame her for not going out when she was in town. The hotel is located in a quiet street! Almost in the residential area! And to be really honest, it’s a very boring area. I guess she thought, “That was all there is to see in Zürich…”
So being a good host, I took her out for a little tour around the city. I don’t know Zürich very well but I know enough to bring her to some nice spots that I love, and I’m pretty sure she’ll love it too. It was a bright and sunny day and she was really lucky. Just 2 days before she arrived, Zürich had the crappiest start of summer.
Photos courtesy of Sabby.
When you put 2 girls and a camera together, you get lotsa photos. :-P
Showing off my green fingernails
A terrible idea to put on those stockings. It was such a warm day!
I think I’ve mentioned in a previous post that there was a place in Zürich that I really love to frequent. All those times I never knew the name. Until a couple of days ago. My ignorance!
The Lindenhof is the oldest part of Zürich and it is also an original site of the Roman customs post. The broad space is quiet now, occupied mostly by chess-playing old-timers and gives a wonderful panorama over the rooftops on both sides of the river.
Who doesn't love swings?
After a full day of walking, we were starved when we reached Spaghetti Factory
We took a looooong walk to the lake...
…and I met the world’s BIGGEST asshole. I wanted to smoke but I misplaced my lighter. As we were walking I held on to my cigarette and waited for the next person who smoke to pass. I saw 2 guys walking towards us and when they were close enough, I asked one of them with a smile (politely, mind you), “Hi! Excuse me, do you have a light?”.
To my surprise that guy, looked at me as though I have lepers all over and he simply walked away. I was flabbergasted! What the hell did I do? No, I don’t think he was offended in any ways. Why would he? He was obviously a smoker too! He had a lighted cigarette in between his fingers. Maybe he had a bad day in the office? Maybe he’s just a rude homosexual who hates woman? Or maybe he plainly hates woman? I don’t know what’s his problem but he is definitely the biggest jerk I’ve ever met.
Mmmmm... Mövenpick's Double Crème de Gruyère & Meringue ice cream to end the day
Saw some guys jumping into the lake from a bridge on our way back...
...it turned out that they were actually trying to jump on a swan which was swimming in the lake (swan not in photo)
Zürich IS pretty as seen through another person's eyes
Don't get me wrong though, I still find it pretty except that it's not the same anymore when you live there.
That’s right! I’m back! Better and tanner than before. The trip to South of France had been a blast! I enjoyed myself immensely. I’ll blog about it really really soon! Till then… Bisous bisous…
I’ve not been at my best lately and it seem to happen quite often these days. It’s mostly the usual bouts of missing my family (especially my mom), being alone and the changes that my body is going through. Since the big move, I’ve had 2 major breakdown. Poor Fred having to witness me at my lowest.
Life is fine. I couldn’t ask for more. I got everything to be contented for. A cosy roof over my head, a responsible husband who come straight home after work and take very good care of me. I’m not complaining. So what else is missing?
I guess knowing that I can’t fall back to the familiarity aches me.
My woes aside, remember me mentioning about my skin condition in a previous post? Well it’s not getting better. But it’s not getting bad either. It’s just there. Dark. Scarred. Like a sore thumb. To make matters worse for me, I got dry scalp. They’re so dry that I began to lose more hair than usual. I’ve used Head & Shoulders thinking that my problem is dandruff but it didn’t help. I’ve tried those gentle shampoos for babies, still the same. Then, I switch to another ridiculously pricey shampoo which is supposed to ‘Heal & Soothe’ but it didn’t heal. Yeah okay, it’s soothed but I’m still losing hair and clogging the plughole! So after months of misery, I’ve finally made an appointment with the dermatologist. Now I really can’t wait to get some professional treatment.
Looking at the brighter side, I have shed a kilo from the smoothie-for-lunch diet. Not bad huh? The Swiss immigration authorities have also extended the dateline for my permit application. Big relief for me since Singapore is taking too long to process the required documents. And that means… I can now look forward to South of France at the end of this month! Yay!
Speaking of Singapore, I can’t help thinking about the Swiss man charged in court for vandalism. Click here for more info. My heart goes out to the poor guy. There’s no way he can escape the Singapore law. The Michael Fay incident should’ve made him think twice about vandalising the train but I guess he simply didn’t know. On the other hand, I think that the graffiti wasn’t such a bad idea after all. It certainly gives some color to the boring looking trains in Singapore.
But of course, Singapore does not tolerate law-breakers. It’ll tarnish the squeaky clean image of the country! If Olivier Fricker or even Michael Fay had been let off with just a warning, it’ll be the start of a pandemonium of vandals. There will be graffitis everywhere! There will be no control! Anyway, vandalism is punishable by up to three years’ jail or a maximum fine of S$2,000, plus three to eight strokes of the cane in Singapore. Well, God bless you Olivier!
Wrapping things up, I’ll leave you with some photos from the last weekend…
Kapelbrücke, Luzern
I've finally been to Luzern. *smirking*
A really old building.
Another old building.
The old entrance of Luzern's train station.
We went to Aargau for karting on Sunday.
The 1st race result is out! I'm not on the list. :-P
Ça, c'est moi !
PS: I’ve learned 5 German words for the past 5 days! They’re just random words generated by my iPhone app.
Reality check, I have about 3 weeks to lose weight till the next vacation (my visa application is still processing but at the rate things are going, there are high chances that I’ll make this trip!). I’ve been on a snacking binge lately. Every single night, without fail, without even having the urge for a bite, I’d find myself raiding the pantry for a piece of chocolate or a cookie. Very very bad Anna. It’s no wonder I’m tipping the scale bit by bit every single day.
So with the vacation as my motivation, I shall lose weight. I MUST I MUST I MUST lose some weight. I’m nowhere near obese, mind you. Not even fat. I was just used to being leaner and healthier. Now? Let’s just say I have some ‘acceptably’ (ahem!) cuddly baby fats. Hehehe…
With that in mind, I’ve started on my dieting regime as of today. Won’t go into details about what I eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner but I will tell you what I’ve made for lunch. As a substitute of my usual sandwiches, I’ve opted for smoothies this time. But before I go on and share the simple but really delicious recipe with you, I’d like to share a little history on my previous obsession with smoothies.
When I was 16 I had a part-time job in a juice bar. This juice bar sells nothing but healthy fruit juices and smoothies. I had a fancy job title then, I was a ‘juice consultant’. That cracks me up till this day. A juice consultant! Hahaha! Anyway, as a juice consultant, I was responsible in preparing nutritional beverages. Once in a while, I would be asked for a recommendation by customers who do not know what they want. That was the best part of my job. I loved concocting new mixtures. So based on their preferences, like for instance; if the customer wants something thick and filling but they don’t want the usual banana and strawberries smoothie, I’d make something else for them. Like banana with oats and chocolate powder. Or banana with mango and orange. A year later after I quit that job I got myself a brand spanking new blender to satisfy my smoothie desires. Crazy me.
Moving on now, here’s the recipe of my strawberries and banana smoothie.
Serves 1
Fill ice cubes to the brim of the glass
Ingredients:
1 medium-sized glass (the quantity depends on the size of your glass, the larger your glass is the greater it amount it yields, but remember though, if your glass is big add in a couple more strawberries to increase the density of the smoothie, unless you like it watery)
6 strawberries, cut into small pieces
1 banana, cut into small pieces
ice cubes
2 tablespoon of oats
1 tablespoon of honey
soy milk
Directions:
Put the bananas and strawberries in a glass and pack some ice cubes on the fruits to the brim (about 5 or 6 ice cubes, don’t put too much otherwise the mixture will turn out like a badly blended Starbucks frappe). Fill half of the glass with soy milk (again, don’t put too much otherwise the mixture will turn out watery, unless you like it that way). Pop the glass’s contents in the blender and add in the oats and honey. Blend it for about 30 – 45 seconds and voila ! Serve immediately!
PS: If you want to make 2 glasses (or more), just double (adjust accordingly) each ingredients and put it in another cup for precise measurement.
Some nutritional facts: Strawberries contain a range of nutrients, with vitamin C heading the group. They also contain significant levels of phytonutrients and antioxidants, which fight free radicals. These antioxidant properties are believed to be linked to what makes the strawberry bright red. Free radicals are elements that can damage cells, and they are thought to contribute to the formation of many kinds of cancer. In addition to vitamin C, strawberries also provide an excellent source of vitamin K and manganese, as well as folic acid, potassium, riboflavin, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, copper, magnesium, and omega-3 fatty acids.
Banana is one of nature’s best sources of potassium. Potassium is known to significantly lower the risk of high blood pressure and related diseases such as heart attacks and strokes. Bananas are believed to prevent dangerous low-density lipoprotein from oxidizing, which causes it to stick to the walls of the arteries. This accumulation can contribute hardening of the arteries, a major contributor to heart attack, stroke and high blood pressure. Even one serving of a potassium rich food,such as bananas can lower your risk of stroke by up to 40%.
Don’t worry. I’m still alive. Just taking a little break from blogging. Haven’t been up to anything fancy lately. Haven’t had much inspiration to write. Sorry. I’ll be back in a couple of days. I promise! In the meantime though, I’ll leave you with some photos…
Bisous bisous…
Saw a cute haystack being lifted by the crane while on our way to Zug last week...
Ever since I received a letter from the Swiss authorities last week, I’ve been one mad woman. I didn’t literally go crazy, eg; not showering, talking to myself, snapping at people for no reason. I was just mad busy; wrote many emails, called and went to all sorts of government offices. Papers were flying everywhere! I never knew that the administration for migrating can be such a nightmare! Especially when foreign languages are involved. Why can’t this world go by with just one language? Wouldn’t it make life so much easier? No miscommunication. No translation. Less headache.
Anyway, like I’ve mentioned before, the grass is definitely NOT greener on the other side.
Moving along, I have sent the things that needed to be sent and all I gotta do now is wait, wait and wait and hope that everything will go smoothly.
I’ve finally received some updates about my residency application; the immigration requires a couple more documents from me. “Sure! No problem!”, I thought. But, as always, it’s never THAT simple. It turned out to be a whole lot more! So I gotta get in touch with the authorities back in Singapore for a particular certificate. BUT! In order to obtain that certificate, I need to produce a documentary proof that it’s for official use. “Sure! I send in the letter that I received then!”. Again, not so easy.
1) the letter I receive is in German
2) I wrote translation notes on that letter (which was a very bad idea)
To summarize, there will be lots of papers flying around and more errands to run. I think that it’ll probably take around 4 – 6 weeks before everything gets finalized. Pffft!
On a lighter note, we are going to South of France at the end of June and I’m really looking forward to that. So this whole process of immigration has to be done before then. Otherwise… Let’s just say I’ll be completely bummed.
I haven’t been uploading much pictures now, haven’t I? I haven’t even shared our wedding and honeymoon photos. I’ll get to that soon. Promise!
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