Have you Zumba?

What is Zumba?

Zumba (pronounced as zoomba) is a unique and exciting high energy aerobics class that incorporates mainly Latin movements and rhythms as well as a diversified mix of worldly exotic flavors. This includes , but not limited to, dances such as Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, Tango, Cha Cha and even Reggaeton! The routines feature aerobic interval training with a combination of fast and slow rhythms that tone and sculpt the body. It targets areas such as glutes, legs, arms, abdominals and most importantly, the heart! The dance steps are easy to follow and students can adjust their aerobic level by either increasing or decreasing their pace and amount of movements. No experience is necessary.

When I saw this on the gym schedule, I was wondering what it was so I took some time to peek into the videos they had playing and I was enthralled. I love classes like this!!

This video is more of an instructional video to give you an idea of what its about... **heh heh, I'm raving about it even before I've tried it but I WILL!! and I will review it when I have done it**

My music playlist has ALOT and when I say ALOT I really mean.. ALOT of latin inspired merengue, latin beats and salsa beats. I love working out to these kind of beats and whats more, I can actually pronounce the words... *trust that my part spanish filipina bloodline background has something to do with being familiar with language like this*.

Furthermore, it looked like it incorporates the kind of explosive movements that I love from Body Combat class but looks more "dancy" and with those "shakalaka" shake that booty movements THAT I ABSOLUTELY adore... Damn!! I wanna shake like that!!! And it looks like it has enough aerobic moves to work up the heart and sweat... I like.

It does help that the chickas in the videos look pretty HAWTT too.... Haha!!

So other than knowing that I will look like an absolute spastic retard in the first couple of classes, I'm still very enthusiastic to try!! If you don't try, you don't learn eh?! Time to unlock my hips.. and I can move to this.. I know it... hahahhaha... thanks to dancing on table tops and all over the sofas at home when I was younger **thanks mommy!!**

Ok **checking gym schedule...** I'm going to try this SOON!! So... anyone who also goes to California Fitness who wants to join me??! Drop me a message HERE and lets try!!

Update!!: Both Lauren and myself tried out this 9 minute video to check out the moves and I'm proud to say that SHE'S GOT MOVES!! and I can do it too.... time for class....!!! And the trick to bumping that booty **according to J.Lo** and gyrating that ass is really just letting go of that inhibition and letting those FATS SHAKE!!

2nd Update!!: If you're interested to try this out, this class is available on Sunday afternoons at the California Fitness Bugis Gym, if you're not a CF member and have not done a trial there before, I can sign you in as a guest. Do note however that you would need to sit through an obligatory sales pitch before they release a 2 or 4 week complimentary trial pass to you. This usually takes about 30 minutes. Although its not mandatory to sign up, its all up to you if you do. Email me here if you're keen on this...

OMG! My Blog is 3!!!

I took part in a Birthday Giveaway on my girlfriend's blog. It was her 3rd blog anniversary! And I was thinking.. heck! Mine isn't even a year old... esp since I only started regularly updating my blog about a year back.

I casually looked into my archives and I realised that MY BLOG IS ACTUALLY A TODDLER!!

Its also 3 years old already!! Where did all the time go! I'm such a bad bloggy mommy for forgetting it's birthday! May 4th May 4th!! Must remember that....

***sayang sayang sayang my blog*** here here.... Mommy now dedicates a Birthday song just for you.. and maybe next year, we will have something special for all our faithful readers out there... stay tuned!

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY

DREAMING REALITY!!!

NSFW: This is the kind of reaction....

That makes it worth the effort to lose weight and change how you look. ***Stop gawking at my boobs.. I'm happy that I still HAVE BOOBS after losing weight so far...*** I had an embarassing but highly flattering experience today at a nearby bus stop when I was on the way to the MRT station.

As I neared, I saw what looked like one of my students from some years back. *I was working marketing in an advertising school before* and as I neared. I saw that it was him and decided to be friendly and say Hi.

So I went up behind him and tapped his shoulder and went "Hi!!" and he turned around and went "Oh Hellooo!!" *raise eyebrows ala chee ko pek style... *Erk.... - he probably thought I was trying to pick him up okay....* with eyes that had the faintest recognition of who I was...

Noticing that, I went "err, you don't remember me huh" and he stared closer at my face and then took a step back *eyes widening*, hands cupping his mouth and then he squealed like a pig.

-.-''

"Ohhhh shit!!! What the hell happened to you?!?!" he said while flapping his arms like a bird hyperventilating and cupping his mouth again... staring at me in disbelief...

Ahhhh NOW HE REMEMBERS...

"My God!! You look AMAZING!!" .... arms still flapping about... why, I don't know.. maybe its some kind of uncontrollable reaction?

All I could feebly do after this little spectacle was mumble a meek "err thanks!" while blushing crazily but I was feeling highly complimented...

And then his bus came and I too had to go so we said our goodbyes and perhaps coffee one day small talk.. hahaha..

I moved off to the mrt station, smiling smugly and very pleased.

Now. This is the kind of reaction you want when people have not seen you in a long time... hahha ... ahem... very pleased. :) And so very worth the effort.

Time to continue on my journey down to 55kg land....

Having a Ball of a Mother's Day...

It was a steamboat lunch over at the Sims for Mother's Day and we had a ball of a time.. literally. Our steamboat was FULL OF BALLS... hahhaha my mother in law made Kong Bak which is succulent stewed pork belly with dark soya sauce and steamed up some butterfly buns to "kiap" the meat in... Did I have the buns you were thinking? Of course not lah!! Carbs leh!!! But I did attack the meat.. heh heh... **salivating thinking about it again... time to get somemore!**

What you see here is bowl #1 and bowl #2 and of course I had bowl #3,#4,#5 before the lunch was over... why is it that the food seems to be swimming in dark sauce.. well, obviously the soup in the pot was clear.. I couldn't resist floating my food in my MIL's Kong Bak Sauce!! hahahahahaha....

With our steamboat, we had marinated Suchi fish slices, golden mushrooms, hotdogs, prawns, chinese cabbage, "chicken backside" fishcake which really isn't chicken backside lah! Its a fishpaste formed to LOOK like a chicken behind and filled w prawn paste... *errr... I don't really eat this* and slivers of chicken breast meat. Inside the soup were chicken wings and lumps of sweet corn....

And of course, the BALLS.... on the spread was Fuzhou fishballs which is a fishball stuffed with minced meat, fresh chili fishballs, cuttlefish balls, meat balls, and that cute animal you see there is fishcake panda and of course the best of all, minced meat balls. Yum!!~ **slurps** so what did you have on Mother's Day?

To leave off this Mother's Day.. here is a song for all Mothers reading my blog...

In my daughter's eyes by Martina McBride.... Enjoy. :)

And another one to giving thanks to how fortunate it was to becoming a mother... hugs to all....

There are no ugly women, only lazy ones....

If you make the effort to emphasise your best features and groom yourself before you present yourself to others, you would be pretty. As it is said, there are no ugly women, only lazy ones... do I look as good without makeup as with? Depends on the person looking but majority will always say that once the "Face" is on, it looks more presentable. I think it makes a difference but CJ says it looks the same to him.... -.-''

I can prove it! From seemingly plain janes and with some makeup, VOILA!!... more larger pictures can be found here... the makeup artist for these girls IS REALLY GOOD!! And if you were wondering why the 4th one looks like a guy? Well because IT IS! Its a guy lor!! And he looks like such a pretty lady right? Buay Tahan...

Does it mean that you should go out to buy a whole makeup range? Nope, just ensure that you have some makeup basics that will help add colour to your face and emphasise what you think is best.

Nothing however helps cover up bad skin and dry lips so drink alot of water and use suitable face washes. I recommend anything with tea tree oil in it and listerine for spot drying of pimples. I like the tea tree range from The Body Shop. If you need some serious exfoliation... try Ginvera Marvel Gel... and of course.. once in a while, use a face mask to hydrate and plump up your skin! ... what I've been using lately?... Dainty All in One Collagen Face Mask...

My girlfriend, JO introduced these masks to me and it can really plump up your skin and help clear it with regular use! It can be bought locally from Beauté Spring stores at $2.50 per piece or cheaper if you buy more. Alternatively, look for online sprees for this great product...

There is a makeup artist on youtube who has some quite informative makeup videos. Check it out here! Enkore's makeup tips however can be quite dramatic but he gives great storage tips for makeup.

I've got a link on some basic care and makeup tips that can be found here! This one is really good. Go explore!

My makeup kit is very basic. Much to the appalled makeup artists who do my face. They exclaim "What! you don't go facials? How come your face so swee? and cannot use makeup without primer/foundation/moisturiser!! Wait you get pigmentation later on!" I put it down to having good genes lah and alot alot of water. I don't use foundation nor concealer or face powders and I don't know how to without making myself look WAYANG. If you have something to recommend to me, let me know and mail me here!

I don't want to end up looking like this lor!!! Anyone want to teach me how to put them to look natural then? These are good for stage/theatrical but not for general use. I tried putting foundation and it looked normal at home but when I stepped out and went to a public toilet to check, I shocked myself to hell. I was so PALE and all I needed was a white dress/long black hair. I could qualify to be a fat version of Sadako.... -.-''

Whats in my makeup kit are as follows:

• L'óreal Blush - Usually in a darker pink shade
• L'óreal Eyeshadow - usually in pink/purple/gray/white shade
• VOV glitter stick - Always in white
• Dark Brown eyeliner pencil which doubles up as eyebrow tint
• Maybelline Dark Brown mascara
• Vaseline Lip Balm + a random lipstick colour preferably something dark red
• Eyelash glue + some sets of false eyelashes + eyelash curler

Thats it! Everything just sits lovely on good skin! So drink up! Water is very important for clear skin. As for makeup remover, I'm very old school and use Ponds Cold Cream for my whole face, even for removing mascara if I use them.

That being said, I would be pleased and open for anyone who reads my blog who's from a skincare company to wants me to endorse or give their makeup/skincare range a try? Hahhaa anyone?

Mothers Day Pressie!

With Mother's Day coming up this Sunday. I want to wish all mothers reading my blog....

A Happy Mothers Day!

Eirian made this necklace and presented it to me today. "Mommy! I have something special for you!" and gave me this in a little plastic bag.

Awww.. and I was amused to find that there was even a little star pendant too! How it was made was that she rolled little strips of paper on a pencil and stuck the paper together and thus the tube "beads". Its so sweet eh!! I like.

Salad Again?!?! and Body Combat

I LOVE my salads. I can have them all the time... and today, I really earned a big bowl like this to go with my glasses of milk. Milk helps recovery post workout btw. Even though milk has carbs, the pros outweigh the carbs that I've to factor in for this so, milk it is... Yumm!!!

What do you see here? My standard issue of ingredients if you've noticed over the past salad entries...

Iceberg Lettuce, Black Pepper Chicken leg meat, a small handful of cauliflower*, a small handful of broccoli*, a small sprinkling of snow pea*, thinly sliced yellow and red pepper slivers, roasted cashew nuts, a small handful of raisins, boiled fresh mushrooms* all drizzled with zesty italian dressing

*burp!*

**Note that I've asterisked some of the ingredients as these ingredients were boiled on Sunday when we were preparing another meal so is already cooked and not raw** I find that just putting aside little bits of vegetables/meat/condiments in little packs can help supplement a meal like this during the week and really adds alot of variety without alot of preparation time.

Preparation time for this big bowl of salad? 5 minutes.

**warning - this video clip is VERY LOUD so please tune down your speakers before clicking on it**

And today was a little crazy at the gym. After a full cardio workout plus leg raises plus crunches, I walked past the gym studio and realised they were starting Body Combat class! Whooot!! I've always missed the class due to timing so I thought "I've got an hour, what the heck!" and bravely went in.

I haven't stepped into a combat class in over 3 years! So I had to announce that it was my first class. *ahem, technically lah!* I'd have to say that the instructor was really very helpful and it didn't take me long to get used to being back in class. You don't exactly forget the moves just that it took some time for me to hear what she was saying and follow. I'm sure I'll be better next week.

The clip above is a sampling of body combat class and with the hour that I did this plus the workout prior to that, I can safely say that I've exceeded a 1000 calorie burn today.

Yep, thats me. Not used to seeing me without all those false eyelashes eh? Haha! As unglam as they come while working out and recovering on the gym floor from all that workout. Phew!!~

What did I get out of that? A really SNG but feeling alot lighter and toned body. But this kind of SNG *sour sour feeling* is really addictive because I know that I've worked muscles and even with the miniscule tears, they will heal and build.

Would I recommend it if you're a gym member? Definitely. Its a really good workout. Try it!

I love Talent Shows!

This one is very enjoyable.



This one's not too bad either.

Love Cookies

Today has been quite indulgent and relaxing. After having lazed in bed till nearly 11am, the girls and I decided we'd spend the day home making cookies. After some mandatory homework that was finished, we headed down to Phoon Huat which just happens to be across the street from our place to explore what we might want to make. Budget? $10.

And we found a pack of cookie premix. $3.30 and all it needed was a 250gm block of butter! $1.90! So simple! I couldn't resist the Jumbo red heart toppings so in it went into our basket. $3.05. We popped by the mini mart and bought some mini M&Ms, $1.40.

Total: $9.65 (Within budget!! Whooot!)

So we dumped the mix into a mixing bowl and mashed in the butter and after a short blend and mix, the dough started to form perfectly and we made little dough balls all over the table.

Lay out the cookie decorations... stuff that we already had at home like... hundreds & thousands rainbow mix sprinkles, pocky strawberry sticks, raisins and glaced cherries. Then we added the brand new additions of mini chocolates and the jumbo hearts!

Eirian spending time making little faces on her tray of cookies.

Eirians' tray. Can see that she has alot of thoughts running about her head by the way she decorates her cookies. Its quite diverse. Hahahaha.

Lauren was a little more systematic and wanted all her cookies to look the same.

So triple M&M cookies for her it was. I can see that she's growing to be like me. Stubborn and independant. Wanting to do things her way and with her own little system.

Eventually after the first batch of mixed decoration. We both settled to making love cookies and cherry cookies with rainbow sprinkles.

After everything was baked and cooled, we packed up 2 boxes and Lauren delivered one up to her classmate. Who happens to live in the same block. She was so proud!! And I was proud that she took pride in what she did and gave them away so generously. I'm sure it will be a topic to talk about tomorrow in class with her friend. :) How nice.

Then we took the other box and went to the mini mart downstairs and gave it to the Aunty there too! She's been really nice to us and Lauren & Eirian were so pleased to give them to her. *proud mommy following them from behind while they did their gifting*

To end the day off, I made cheesy cream pasta with hotdogs for dinner so it was pretty much carb overload today but heck! such a nice public holiday. Its time for gym tomorrow to sweat it out! :) And it was facepainting mommy to the talent que! Time for facepainting!! Smile Lauren!

And say cheese Eirian!! *grin*

My Workout Routine...

I've got questions from time to time from people asking me what I do to work out. This is my current routine to what I do lately. As the body adjusts, I would need to modify this routine from time to time but this is current as of now.

That picture above is my legs right now. Its not a sexy pair *but I'm working to make it look more acceptable so that I can wear some denim/puffy kawaii-ne skirts!* but I'm glad to note that its a hell of alot smaller than before where it was just 2 stubby lumps below my ball of a body I had previously. That being said, I DO NOT KNOW how to slim the legs, to pre-empt anyone asking me this question via email as there is no such thing as spot slimming. But you can work the various leg muscles and hip/butt area to gain muscle to help increase your body's caloric burn and help tone these areas over time.

For some people, they gawk at what I do and go "har! so much, I can't do that!" or some people just shrug and say "oh, thats pretty normal" or even "thats too easy!!". For starters though, some numbers may look big but its really not that difficult to do and know that I've reached this current level gradually over time. Whether it was to increase in repetitions or distance or speed. It was done over time. I didn't start exercising in the beginning at this kind of level so for anyone considering an exercise routine, find something that you can do consistently, at a moderate pace and gradually build up from there to something that you can maintain over time.

For the curious ones. Here goes and if anyone has recommendations to add on or to modify this routine to a better one, please please... email me HERE.

I go to the gym 2-3 times a week. And I jog 2-3 times a week. These are done on alternate days. This would be a preferred week. If work/sickness/any other reason has it that I miss my workout, I aim for a minimum. 3 times a week workout at very least.

If I miss gym, I jog.

My typical Gym day would be:

• 10 minutes stretching


• 45-60 minutes cardio - can be a mix of either spinning/threadmill/crosstrainer


• 5 minutes post cardio stretching


• About 300 crunches
  
• And probably 30-45 minutes more of various machines - could be lower body or upper body depending on choice of the day.


• Post workout - usually I end with a 20 minute steam/sauna.

My Typical Jog day would be:

• 10 minutes stretching
  
• 6 rounds around my estate. Don't know the distance though. But long enough to continously jog for 1 hour at moderate pace.


• 10 minutes of post cardio stretching


• 100 leg raises


• 1 block climb x 25 floors *If I do less jogging rounds, I compensate 1 missed round for one complete block climb. Ie I jog 5 rounds instead, I will do the climb twice.*


• And if I'm up to it, I do some light arm exercises with light weights when I'm back home after all that.

So thats it for now... definitely not as hard hitting, or even rigorous as what my lao gong does on a daily basis. His workouts are so hard that one power session, he burns over 1000 calories each time! Maybe I should contemplate joining his class one of these days just to add on to my routine... *hmmmmnnn ponder ponder*

For those who come to my blog in search of weightloss references. Don't let this turn you off. I know some of you are going "aiyoh, so tiring! Don't want liao..." You definitely need to incorporate some kind of exercise routine into your life if you want change and make it a priority in the day rather than as an option. Make it a MUST not a might or maybe. Just like how you would prioritise a meeting/a meal or even a bath in a day. Make it a point to put in exercise time and you'll see a healthier you eventually.

Cheers!