How-to Make a Summer Dress, Threadbanger

Waiting for Wally

It's an exciting day! Can hardly sit down. I made special arrangements to work from home today just to be around when Wally arrives.

I've already prep-ed Wally's room.. vacuumed, wiped and tidied up. Now all that's left is to wait...

Where's Wally...?

Pin-cushion curiosity...

My current pin cushion (a piece of sponge cut into a shirt shape) is starting to get a little worn around the middle. Poor thing! So I've been considering a replacement.

I've seen these cutesy pin cushions for sale in some haberdasheries (usually the neighbourhood / mom-and-pop types rather than the modern crafters-haven) and almost all Chinese bridal necessity shops sell them.

Photo borrowed from Carmen Maldonado of NostalgiaNest on Etsy

What piqued my interest was seeing the stacked ones that Sereni & Shentel have in their fabulous workshop!

Then I stumbled upon Gertie's blogpost about the tomato pin cushion and the accompanying comments made me LOL. Now I'm seriously considering a sawdust filled tomato with an emery strawberry attached!

Maybe I should DIY my own pumpkin pin cushion, instead since I'm in an DIY mood these days. You can learn how-to everything from the internet. It's UH-MAZING!!

I found this tutorial from Fiskars website. The best part is the difficulty rating which says "Beginner".

Designed by Patti Milazzo

Now, if only I had a sewing machine... (",)

100 in 5 days

That makes an average of 20 pom poms a day, discounting the cast-aways from earlier attempts and those that didn't make the cut. Way to slow progress -__-"

Of Making the Connection

My Friday ended at 0130 hours on a Saturday only to begin again when the alarm went off at 0615 hours. Hitting the snooze button, I stole another 3 minutes of shut-eye before JH gave me a wake up call. No more snoozin', time's a-loosin'. I was out the door at 0630 hours, driving towards TPM to meet the rest. Today, we're going to train at the steps of Batu Caves. 10 showed up.

A little background about Batu Caves for the uninitiated. There are 272 steps from rising from the foot of the hill, demarcated by a charming archway decorated with several avatars of the Lord Murugan / Subramaniam, to the mouth of the cave complex that houses the shrines of several Hindu dieties. It's approximately 28.9km away from TPM which took us about 35 minutes to get there (this after discounting the time wasted making a wrong turn).

We arrived without fanfare at 0745 hours and met PT at the base of the stairs. Our training aim today is to complete 4 laps (1 lap = completing 1 set, up and down the stairs) in 90 minutes. We took it slow with the 1st lap. Everyone broke pace and reached the top together. We took photos within the cave and walked around to shake out the kinks in our legs. Thereafter, everyone went their own pace.

I'm glad to say that the team did a good job meeting the training aim (Well done, guys and gals!). No drama, no incident, no sweat! Ok... Maybe not the sweat part. We all sweat buckets :) I, for one, pushed beyond the 4-lap aim and went for 5 laps and in the process, I struck up conversation with this uncle who "coached" and cheered me along. Thank you!

We had chilled Milo to quench our thirst at the carpark, thanks to PT. And decided to go for breakfast before going our separate ways. Me, being a weekend vegan, had a groundnut bao with "teh c special". That was lunch.

After a 30-minute nap, I was on the road again. I've signed up for the Bikram Posture Clinic in Subang. Rich Nichols (head honco for Bikram yoga teachers in this region) conducted the 2-hour clinic.

I've never been to a yoga posture clinic before and was quite surprised to see the studio packed from wall to wall. When usually we have about 4 feet between yoga mats, today there was only a 2 feet gap. The other difference was in the heat. It was not turned on and we had the windows slightly open. In spite of that, the class was sweating profusely 30 minutes into the clinic.

Today's session concentrates on correction and imparting tips on the standing series of the Bikram posture progression. Picked up some very good pointers at the clinic and I'm now seriously considering getting a tatt to commemorate conquering white water rafting at Padas and the peak of Mount Kinabalu :) Shhh..! Don't tell my parents.

Rich challenged the clinic participants to attend the 1600 hours yoga class conducted by Erik. Only 15 took him on. I must admit though, after 2 hours of posture analysis and learning even without the 40 degree heat, I couldn't make it through all 26 postures. Having said that though, I'm not disappointed in myself. As Sean (another Bikram teacher) always says, "it's yoga practice, not yoga perfect".

Since taking up Bikram, I have noted a marked difference in my physique and psyche. The improvement of the later resulted in my being able to stay focused, remember things better and push myself to achieve more because the brain is no longer setting up roadblocks for the body. It's a whole different life when your brain is not trying to sabotage your body's potential. It's the brain making the connection with the body for both to move in sync. My body surprises me everyday :)

Since signing up to join MY's colleagues to climb Mount K, we've been training together by going on hikes and treks. These have improve my cardio immensely. I find myself no longer out of breath / panting after climbing the 3 flights of stairs (a total of 63 steps) to my office everyday and, in fact, have started to take the stairs when going to JH's place on the weekend (he lives on a 4th floor apartment).

Now you are already starting to wonder: what's the point in all this? Well, I'm getting there :)

Many people have said that climbing Mount K is more mental than physical. I figured that in taking up this challenge, I am putting both to the test. In my daily grind, I find myself able to cope that much better both mentally and physically. So much so, somedays I feel almost invincible. And that is an incredible feeling.

If someone had told me 1 year ago that I would be going for 5 laps at Batu Caves (traipsing up and down 2,720 steps) thereafter attending a 120-minute yoga clinic followed by 90 minutes of Bikram hot yoga all in one day, I'd say, "Who me?" but here I sit today, blogging about it and feeling the endorphins coursing through my veins. Best feeling in the world!

Oh.. And did I mention that there was this incredibly hot Korean teacher at the clinic today. Wow! She turned my head a couple of times and I was so definitely gawking at her. She was HAWT! (",)

Running up the tab

It's the year end and there are mega discounts and price slashing galore. Being the bargain hunter that I am, yours truly decided to hit the shops and scout for cheap buys. Armed with my credit cards and a sweater (because of over-zealous Christmas-spirited shopping mall operators - see last entry in blog), I went on a pilgrimage to pay homage to the Queen of all Sales.. The Malaysian YES (Year-End-Sale).

I spent a whole day at one of the 5 imminent malls in the Klang Valley with my childhood buddy in tow. We walked the floors and scoured all our favourite shops, which was approximately 60% of the mall barring the cinema, food places, books and toy shops (never pay regular prices when there are warehouse sales abound!). I came out of it empty handed except for the purchase of a can of green tea, ice cream and dinner. How truly disappointing :(

Keeping my spirits up, I decided to check out 2 book companies' warehouse and moving out sale respectively. That endeavour was more satisfying in that I have suceeded in stocking up a year's worth of reading supplies and some VCDs (original only mind you) for the nieces and nephews. However, my boyfriend did not appreciate spending 3 hours with his head tilted to one side in order to read the titles off the book spines. Needless to say, there was a grumpy face driving us home that evening and a tired but happy bookworm hoarding my 'spoils of war' *hyuk! hyuk!*

Today, I gave my staff the day off and am contemplating to launch an 'assault' on the latest, upmarket mall to hit the town. According to my childhood buddy, the mall we went to was child's play in comparison to that. Ooooo... a challenge if I ever knew one! I've checked the traffic conditions online and put out my shopping shoes so as soon as I can peel myself away from my comfy perch in front of my laptop, I will be off. Wish me luck! And to you, dear reader, have an excellent New Year!

More Than Meets The Eye...

AWESOME!! As soon as I stop feeling tingly, I will write a proper post on THE movie of the century: Transformers

A picnic @ Hulu Langat

It was a bright and sunny Sunday. We had a week to plan this trip but the credit should go entirely to Jaclyn and Andrew for pulling it together. Afterall, they were the ones who mooted the idea, gathered the participants and prepared all the food. The rest of us just came along and helped carry the food up the hill.

And boy! was it a hike. It was a steep 20-minute climb. We had to take frequent breaks (and a sandwich each) to help us along! But the hike was well worth the labour albeit there was quite a crowd there already.

We were only too glad to dump our respective loads and Andrew wasted no time in unpacking (and showing off) our food. Lunch was served! A delicious packet of "nasi lemak" (a popular local fare of rice cooked in coconut milk with condiments) with a choice of either chicken or squid "rendang" *yum yum!* Dessert was a choice of bananas (the healthier option) or potato chips (the not-so healthy option). The hike coupled with the crisp forest and waterfall air worked up a good appetite and lunch was polished off in a matter of mere minutes.

After a hearty lunch, it was time to hit the water. The water was icy cold *brrr~!* but we soldiered on nevertheless. We are not going to let our hike go to waste! No sir-ee..! We'll splash around even if our faces turned blue. Fortunately, we live in a tropical climate and it was mid-afternoon thus we quickly got used to the biting cold and ventured to the cascades for a nice "massage" (,")

Aah... so much fun! Time certainly flew. Andrew brought a pail and fishnet and we went fishing and 'prawn'-ing.. eer... what's the correct term for catching prawns? further beyond the waterfall. This entailed another rigorous hike up a steep, dirt slope with only portruding rocks and tree roots as foot and hand holds. Our catch was dismal but the climb took us to several shallow pools of water fed by a serene, flowing stream hedged on either side by splendid old trees. The scenery was breathaking. If only we'd remembered to bring the camera!

Our last water activity for the day was to take turns sliding down the 'waterslide'. The 'slide' was hewn out of solid boulder rock. Not content to merely slide down alone, we tried many interesting 'combinations' of sliding including a 3-person up to 5-person 'train'. The air was soon filled with squeals of delight and excitement. You'd have thought we were behaving like a group of 10 year olds!

All too soon, it was time to pack up and leave, taking with us a cache of fond memories and lugging our tired bones down the steep slope. We are reminded that all too often, life passes us by on the fastlane. It is only when we stop long enough to take in the view is when our daily struggles seem to lighten and melt away. ~Jas (",) 05.11.2006~