Valen’s Vanity Square

What a short trip! After spending about 4 days in Hong Kong, I’m back to the familiar city of my own, and back to reality of life. But I guess it’s good that way. If I stayed longer there, I might risk gaining weight from trying all the yummy Hong Kong foods!

But actually that is unlikely to happen. The weather is getting very warm there. We walked a lot and sweat a lot during this trip. So it’s not a surprise that I managed to keep my original weight, even after I ate so much in the past few days!

Back in KL, the weather is the usual super hot when the sun is high up in the sky at noon. But I won’t be out walking under the hot sun just to go and get some normal chicken rice for lunch. I would rather eat instant noodle under the cool breeze of a casablanca ceiling fan and watching my favourite ‘Game of Thrones’ on iPad. It is more likely to gain pounds under this circumstance then when I was on a holiday. Haha!

Hmm, may be I should also look up for some online yoga exercise videos and start working out tonight - before the pounds get to me!

Things tend to happen when you are at the busiest point of your life, and add on to the already packed to-do list!

While busy packing for our trip tomorrow, the door of one of the cabinets in the study room fell out. Wanted to get something from the cabinet, sort of in a rush, but I guess I pulled the already loosen door too hard, so out it came.

Well, it’s not a major problem really. We just have to find a couple of the right size of butt hinges and the door can be easily fixed.

But we have no time for cabinet door repairing task now! Hubby still has to go out for a work-related event today (and it’s Saturday!), leaving me to sort out which stuff goes into which bag. Have to get all done as soon as possible so that we can go to bed early tonight (like at 9pm!) and to wake up at 3.30am tomorrow morning.

Didn’t know preparing for a short holiday can be so stressful. Can’t imagine if we were to plan for a 2 week Europe trip!

As we are preparing for a short trip to Hong Kong, we are also busy planning to start our very first small online business.

We have no idea how to do it, but will just do it. Hubby is so tied-up with his full-time job, so I’m the one who is doing most of the administrative work, sort of. Such as emailing and researching for information online.

I think I have gotten the most important information needed, except for the small business insurance quote, which we might not need it for the time being.

Anyway, if I have any questions, I can always ask my sister as she has already started her online clothing website installed with a shopping cart.

Oh, that reminds me that I would also need to look out for several shopping cart software in the market to make comparison, whether we need it now or not. Better to have those information ready at hand.

Oh gosh, gonna fly this Sunday, and we haven’t packed our luggage yet!

We will have to wake up at 3.30am Sunday morning, in order to arrive the airport two hours before the departure time!

Just hope that I will be able to get some sleep in the plane, otherwise I will be too sleepy to really enjoy the sights and foods of Hong Kong.

Foreseeing a busy week ahead. That’s unusual for a jobless huh. Haha!

There is an online biz project to work on, there are books to read, there is some research to do before we head off for a Hong Kong trip the coming Sunday, there is an internet marketing workshopp to atrend, and of course there will be some pre-trip shopping to do, pus a pedicure perhaps, hehe.

Speaking of our HK trip, I’m really excited. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not about the shopping. It’s more about food, food and more food. :p

We have been to HK twice, but I just love the city so much that I have been wanting to revisit the streets and eat their food again.

We won’t be shopping for many souvenirs this time, may be a couple of custom golf balls for golfer friends and some of HK local delicacies for family members. Most importantly, we just want to relax and enjoy the vibrant city with lots of walking and coffee.

I have a number of things in my ‘how to spend my jobless days’ plan. Besides enrolling myself into a driving refresher course, another activity that I wish to pick up from where I left behind is making beaded jewelry.

All the bead bracelet projects that I planned to do were forgotten since I started working full time two years ago! It was also during that time when I thought I could make and sell personalized bracelets as a living, haha!

But one can so easily search for and purchase beautiful personalized bracelet and at affordable price from the internet these days. Those bracelets, made using gold and silver chains and bangles adorned with crystals or pearls, look so much more modern and elegant than my handmade beaded bracelet.

Oh well, selling bead bracelets is not in my plan anymore, but I can still make them as gifts for my girlfriends. Not to mention that beading is quite a relaxing and meditative activity that helps your mind to learn to focus on just one thing.

One week into a jobless life, I have started to cultivate bad habits or lose track of things…

I tend to lose track of the day, waking up to question like “What day is today?” or “Is today Wednesday or Thursday? Oh, it;s Friday, because hubby is wearing casual today…”. Haha!

I tend to eat more junk food! When I was working, I ate three main meals plus afternoon snack, such as toast bread with butter and kaya and a cup of coffee. I didn’t have cravings for ice creams or chocolates or chips. Now, with the kitchen cabinet and fridge just a few steps away, I can’t help but to reach for one of those after lunch or before dinner.

And I have become so slack in my beauty regime, because of the current mindset “Oh, I’m staying at home all the time, nobody is going to look at me anyway”.  Plus, since I’m jobless, I won’t be able to spend extravagantly on skincare products in the coming months, so I have to minimise the usage of that precious Clarins anti-wrinkle, firming day and night cream of mine. Instead, I have to start turning to over-the-counter products in the pharmacies. Just hope that  I won’t look 10 years older 10 weeks later!

Time flies! It’s Saturday already. I still remember that I woke up to a very relaxed and good mood last Saturday. And today it’s the same, too!

I once read an article saying that stress is one of the culprits (besides unhealthy diet and lack of exercise) that cause weight gain, especially promoting accumulation of fat around the lower abdomen area and hips. It has something to do with hormone regulation. When you are stressed, certain hormone levels are increased, which encourage the storage of fat. So if you are constantly stressful, then this process is ongoing all the time. Imagine how stubborn the fat will be after a long period of time!

No wonder I have been gaining weight so easily.

That’s why it is important to get physically active to get rid of the accumulated fat and to find your own ways to release stress to at least get rid of one weight-gaining trigger. But of course, if you choose to use some help from weight loss supplements such as ignite maxx, then remember to first read the ignite maxx review before you decide if it is the best solution for you.

For me, I think the work-related stress factor can be eliminated from now onwards. And I foresee a more healthy diet since I will be cooking more often. And with more time on my hands now, I can try some simple yoga moves at home anytime of the day.

I’m weighing at 58 kg now. Let’s see what my weight is one month down the road.

A tired day~ I think I could fall asleep within 2 minutes if I sat on an Adirondack rocking chair now!

First of all, went to bed very late last night. Hubby was working, and I had to wait for him to pick me up from my mom’s house. By the time I washed and changed, it’s already 2 in the morning. @.@

Then, still had to wake up at 8 this morning, as I needed to go to my ‘ex-office’. Had to courier a parcel to the office in another state.

And since I have been out of the house, I thought might as well head to Kinokunuya bookstore in the city centre. After all, the train station is just within walking distance from the office.

And when I headed to my mom’s house after my short book-shopping trip, I carried extra weight with me - a paper bag of books and a big bag of Rotiboy buns.

When I finally got home, my cute 2-year-old niece wanted to play with me, and how could I resist such an adorable toddler?

Now, I just feel like wanting to take a nap before hubby comes and take me to dinner… *yawn*

Nevertheless, it’s another wonderful day being jobless.