Move The Body

It's probably been about 2 months since I've joined a local gym. Good news is I've 2 other friends who goes to the classes with me and I've been attending regularly, at least two to three times a week. 


The gym instructor actually 'prescribed' some circuit exercises for me. Things like going on the treadmill, cross-trainer and weights. But I hated such boring routine and so far, I've not done it once! One time, I went to the gym for Body Balance class and found out that I'd got the time wrong. Well, since I was there, I could have just gone up and spend some time working the gleaming training machines they have, but no, I turned around, right in front of my gym instructor some more, and went home....Naughty girl!


I guess I just have to be led when it comes to exercising. When there's an instructor in front of you, telling you to move this way and go that way, and everyone else is doing the same thing, you just can't help but follow. Since joining, I've tried a few of the classes and narrowed down to four of my favourites:


Body Jam : This is bascially a funky dance class. It's got some really strange moves, totally idiotic sometimes, but it's fun and the music's nice. And we love to watch our gay instructor dance. Feels like we're in a disco! 


Body Combat : Don't play play with this one. We do Tae Kwon Do, Karate and other martial arts moves. It will get your heart thumping and skin sweating starting from warm-up. Good for training power and strength. Also good for venting out your frustrations physically, especially therapeutic if you've just been jilted or angry with someone. If all's well in life, just use your imagination that you are being attacked by bad guys and you're punching and kicking the lights out of them! I really like this class. So far, it's got the best workout and who knows, a little martial skills could come in handy.


Zumba : Sensuous latin dance workout. Have a little trouble getting into the mood sometimes. I wish I could rotate those hips like the sexy instructor. She seems to enjoy it so much and is smiling from start to beginning. Other than that, not much sweat.


Body Balance : A combination of Yogo, Pilates and Tai Chi moves accompanied by slow, calming music. In contrast to the other faster and more cardio classes, this one aims to tone your muscles and improve balance. Not as easy as it looks.


At the end of the day, my objective is to get my body moving and perspiring. Whether I lose weight or develop those abs is not that important, though it's a good to have result. With regular exercise, I think my energy level has improved and hopefully, my cholesterol level has gone south as well. Well, I'm not sure if that's a good thing, but I feel less guilty too when I indulge in desserts and sinful treats nowadays!


  

Un-Kang (Unhealthy) Preferences

I don't know why and I wonder if other kids are like KK when it comes to healthy dietary choices. His name means "Health" but KK has very unhealthy preferences and the only reason why he is not a fat, sickly child with no teeth is because we have been obstructing him and preventing him from doing what he wants. 


He loves salty stuff, the saltier the better. Many a times, he complained that my cooking was too bland and would request to add salt. He loves eating dumplings and sashimi because he could dip them in lots of soya sauce. Chips, nachos and all those unhealthy crispy fried stuff in a packet are his favourite snacks naturally.


KK also like to eat chocolates. We don't buy any candies so he can't have them at home but it looks like we have to stop buying chocolates (which Hubby and I sometimes enjoy) too. We don't buy fruit juices as well as he will drink them if they are around, instead of water. His teeth are not very strong and every trip to the dentist reveals some decay.


His school has been learning about healthy lifestyle this semester but I'm pretty sure it had little impact on him. He was to keep a "Healthy Living & Lifestyle" diary about how he lead a healthy lifestyle and here are some of his inputs:


Day 1 - Eat all my veggies. (What do I feel about this choice: I feel healthy.)
Day 2 - Went swimming (I feel bored.)
Day 3 - Went Taekwondo (I feel cool.)
Day 4 - Go to fitness club (I feel like I'm going to die.)
Day 5 - Eat chips (I feel healthy.) ~ he insisted he REALLY felt ok.
Day 6 - Eat all my fruits (I feel forced to eat it.)
Day 7 - Eat 500g of chocolate (I feel fat.)


Haiz...when will he learn?


That said, I'm glad he at least likes most vegetables like broccoli and lettuce. He's also very active and gets lots of exercise. Just go easy on the salt and sugar son!

Health Hopes

The days have begun to turn longer. No longer sunset at 5 o'clock. Yipee! I think the coldest is finally over though it's still not time to head to the beaches yet. Although we have been heading to the swimming pools quite often. Strangely, swimming pools are good places to go for a weekend outing in Winter. Thanks so much to the heated indoor pools that we have. Our favourite is at Melton, where there's a lap pool to exercise, wave pool for the kids (and adults) to have fun and a steamy bubbly jacuzzi to relax in. We go with some friends and food and it's a party! 


The other thing we've been busy doing recently is exercising. Even I have joined in the regime. Lazy me, who hates exercising and sweating and loves watching TV, have signed up for a health club membership for the first time in my life. I'm not turning into a health freak overnight, but I do hope not to turn into an unhealthy freak when I'm older. Hubby has been gently nudging me to keep fit ever since he's got into Tae Kwon Do. Now, he gets to exercise at least twice a week and he feels good about it. 


It so happened that there were some promotions going on and I started by signing up free trial memberships at 2 health clubs with some girl friends who wanted to keep healthy as well. The health clubs are located nearby and we get access to all their facilities and classes. So far. I've tried Body Balance, Pilates, Boxing and Zumba classes in the evenings. And guess what, I'm even doing time on the threadmill! I've never liked threadmills, I find them so boring. You stare at the same scenery all the time when running. I have a small gym at the condo where I lived in Singapore but I seldom use them even though they face the swimming pool. But at the gyms here, they face a row of television screens or have built-in personal TV touchscreens. How wonderful can that be for a couch potato like me? You bring your own headphones, plug it in and hey, you're entertained while keeping fit! I usually go on the threadmill while waiting for KK in his "kids fitz" class (free for kids of members). I don't watch television programs at home cos the TV is always hogged by the kids so ironically at the gym, I get to catch up on a bit of news and advertisements. Then for the sake of watching more TV, I also do some cycling while waiting for KK to shower. I find this a good arrangement.


Knowing myself, I'm a bag of lazy bones. When it's dark and cold outside, I find it hard to put on my track shoes and leave the comforts of home. But if I have a friend going together, I'll have no excuse. And actually, it's nice to leave the kids' bedtime routine to Hubby and have an hour or two of time on my own. 


At the end of the day, I think no matter what exercise I do, as long as it gets my heart thumping harder and my muscles working, I'm taking a step closer to health. So with my full membership for the next year and hopefully with my friends' company, I will keep up this exercising routine at least twice a week. 

Three Scarves & A Beanie

Guess I've just found another new hobby. With Winter being rather chilly these days, knitting warm clothing seemed like a fine idea. It has been a good 15 years since I last picked up the knitting needles to knit something. Back then, it was a grey wool scarf for my then-boyfriend, now husband. I still remember it cost me more than $80 in yarn alone. And it got stolen in China after I lent it to my mom when she went on a tour. That was the first and last thing I've ever knitted.


With so little experience and the long time gap, I had totally forgotten how to knit. Luckily, I have a friend who knew and she helped me to get started again. My first project was a black ribbed scarf for Hubby after he mentioned that it was very chilly in the city when he walked from one office to another. Unfortunately, it was such a simple, repetitive yet slow process that I soon got bored. At the moment, it's only about half completed. 

 Left to right in order of completion

In the meantime, I experimented with knitting different yarns (there're so many types!) and worked on a few projects concurrently. So far I've made 3 scarves and a beanie over the last month. I'm now having fun learning how to knit more difficult patterns and playing around with mixing colours. I try to learn on my own by reading knitting books and trying to understand the knitting instructions. Since I started knitting, I've also been paying attention to the knitwear that people wear and appreciating the details and patterns that previously I've taken for granted. 



There's a big market for knitting in Australia as knitted stuff are really useful in our cold climate. Knitting for babies and children is especially popular. But despite the huge variety and relative inexpensive material, hand knitting is still pretty much a hobby, reserved for people with time, patience and love. It's really the self-satisfaction of a handmade product and seeing someone you love use your creation that keep knitters going. Economics wise, it doesn't make much sense to spent so much effort and time (months sometimes) to make a knitted cardigan, when you can get a beautiful, made-in-China, machine-knitted one for $25 in Target. A beanie like mine cost only $4 at The Reject Shop while mine cost approx $3 (after discount) in yarn alone. That's why small projects for kids are quicker and gives more satisfaction.    

Bunny & Stickman

Making craft dolls is not my forte nor interest but when push comes to shove, I just have to deliver. 


It all began in March when me and my big mouth promised to make XX a bunny rabbit during Easter. However I didn't have the polyester fill then and I told XX I can't make it until I bought the fill from Spotlight. Weeks passed without me making the trip and I thought XX had forgotten all about it. Then one day in May, I needed to go to Spotlight to get a roll of thread. As soon as XX heard I was going to Spotlight, he reminded me to buy fluff to make his bunny. Opps, so you didn't forget. No excuse, I can't break a promise and a child's heart.


Once I got the fluff, I was reminded and pestered everyday to start work on the bunny. One thing about XX, he can be quite persistent and naggy, in his quiet and not-aggressive fashion. He will keep asking until you give him what he wants. So with my elementary sewing skills, I converted one of his old baby jumper suit into a bunny. It really wasn't good looking but my son loves it. It reminded me of a similar bunny soft toy I had when I was a teenager. A friend had given it to me and I loved to hug it until it got so torn and tattered beyond repair. I even brought it to hostel in university and Hubby could remember it till now. 


Anyway, seeing XX get a bunny soft toy, KK requested to have one as well. In order not to appear bias, I agreed to make one for him. And he requested for a Stickman. A stickman? Not a bear or dog? How huggable is a stickman? But then again, my son is weird. KK's favourite cartoon drawing and favourite computer animation is stickman. Sometimes, he'll create some comic strip of 2 stickmen fighting. So I cracked my head again and used another of XX's old baby t-shirt pyjamas to make a doll with skinny legs, arms and body with no eyes.

So here we have it, the latest addition to the family: Stickman and Bunny.


Actually, these two dolls pretty much embodies the characteristics of my 2 sons. One is bony and kooky, the other cuddly and cute.

Progressing into Winter

This year's Winter is by far the coldest I've felt. Even in Autumn, I already felt like I was in Winter and Summer, it left no warmth in my memory. Apart from shuttling the kids, grocery shopping and visiting the construction site, I have been pretty much keeping warm at home. Even that I'm finding hard without turning on the heater and wearing a few layers of clothes. Arrgh, the inconvenience of Winter. Each time we dress/undress, we got to do that standing in front of a fan-force heater. And each change would entail at least 4 pieces of clothing to be either washed or sorted. Some days, getting out of bed is a challenge.


On a positive side, the winter chill has not hampered the progress of our house. There were pockets of good sunny days that allowed all the necessary foundation and structure to be set up. Now that the weather is more rainy, they are doing the interior jobs. So far, we're rather happy with Simonds on the progress. There were small hiccups like we had to re-select our bricks (due to nil availability) and front door (due to discontinued model) but it's been ironed out and we're happy they waived the upgrade cost for us after we had to select a brick from a higher category. Other small issues include pilferage of materials from our house. We found the two knobs for turning the awning windows missing after the long weekend. Also, the brick layers from the construction next door have been stealing our water. And phantom people have been using the construction bin outside our house to dump their household waste. It seems theft is quite common (the site supervisor barely raised his eyebrow when he saw the missing knobs on the window and just jotted it down) and apparently worse can happen.


I've recently got a friend to teach me knitting and got started working on two scarves and probably a beanie next. Due to the frosty weather, such accessories have now become a necessity. I had a pair of woolly gloves that I've never had to use over the last few years but this year, it's been especially handy in the mornings. I bet the sale of wool and fleece clothing have gone up over the last month! 


It seemed to us an amazing change compared to the year we first arrived. In 2008, I heard my friend telling us there was no need for umbrellas in Melbourne. The rain were just drizzles that passed in 5 mins. The Winters were mild and the Summers, hot and dry. Remember the forest fires of Black Saturday in 2009? But these last 2 years, things have turned around so much. The dams are now filled and we've started to get a mosquito problem during Summer, something that's not happened before for a long time. The terrain is now looking lushier and greener, the creeks are flowing with water and life again. This was how it was 10 years ago, before the drought set in. In a way, if this is Nature's way of finding a balance for itself, I'm glad. I just have to re-adjust my body thermostat and be more tolerant of the cold.

Site Start

After months of planning and hours spent pouring over our house plans again and again, we finally moved out of paperwork stage and officially went into "site start" on 17 May. This is the stage when construction of the house actually begins and all the plans on paper are put into action. And it started at an amazing speed.

Last Monday when Hubby went past the site, it was still mud with some pipes sticking out here and there. On Wednesday when I went over, I was surprised to see half a dozen people working on my land. The base of the house was already formed and being filled with waffle pods. On Thursday, the concrete was poured and the slab was officially completed. By the end of the work week, the timber frame of the house was constructed. I could now clearly make out all the rooms in the house and have an idea of the actual size of the spaces. Amazing!

It sure looked pretty easy to construct a house. The timber frames were all pre-fabricated and all the tradies have to do is to fix them together with a nail gun. It took 3 guys to put up the house frame (minus the roof) within a day. We were hoping they could put up the roof as well on the same day but given the size of our house and the number of guys allocated to the job, it didn't happen.

The reason why we wanted them to put up the frame faster was because we were paying for the generator hire. It was the result of an unfair clause in the contract which 90% of people are caught in. I hope people who are building their homes here will take note of this clause that stated "If there are any delays in Clients 'Connection and Supply of Power' to site by Local Power Authority, Simonds Homes may provide 'temporary power supply/generator hire' for construction purposes as required and charge the Client accordingly for any additional costs."

Simonds is supposed to pay for the electrical usage during the construction and they are supposed to set the electrical meter up for the house. The Local Power Authority need about 10 days to connect the power after the meter is ready. However, Simonds only set the meter up this week when the concrete slab is built, reason being they want to prevent its exposure to theft of its fuse and copper wires. Therefore when they need the power 3 days later to do the timber frame, 90% of the time the power supply is not connected yet. And clients now have to make a choice of paying for the generator hire or delay their project for up to 3 weeks. We didn't think there was much of a choice as we didn't want to delay the construction. Even though we felt it was unfair as Simonds should set up the meter box earlier so that power can be ready when they need it, we can't argue for Simonds to pay since it was explicitly stated in the contract. We really didn't expect to be caught by this 'Note Only' clause. We did not have the experience to realise that the connection of power would have a time lapse and it was not within our control when Simonds set up the meter. These are Simonds' responsibility but the clients have to pay the price for any delays. Does it make sense? Simonds should just be upfront to clients about this 'almost confirmed' out of pocket cost or make better processes to ensure that power will be available on site when needed. Until this is done, potential clients, if possible, negotiate for this clause to be removed during contract negotiation.