Choosing your wedding ring is not as easy as you think it will and definitely not like some document management software stuff where you can just click and get the stuff out from your computer organizer …there is so many things that you will need to consider.

1- Budget- VERY VERY Important!

2- Are you going to choose gold,white gold or platinum? We choose white gold only.. no moolah la to buy platinum..beside ..platinum pun bukannya tidak pandai luntur….

3- The design of your ring. How you want it to be design….Since we buying it from the display glass itself.. so this was not an issue for us.

4- Are you buying matching ring or different design? We decided to go with individual design instead of couple ring…

5- Does shop “brand” is in your priority list??  As for us..it was not… any shop will do so long as it gives us the right cost and design

Last point……

- SALES…WAIT FOR THE BIG SALES…TRUST ME…YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!

Of cos saying that..you will definitely need to sit down and discuss the whole points as pointed above with your partner, specially if he will be the one taking out the moolah@ cash, unless if you guys have decided to split the bill.

I definitely did discuss the whole thing with Daniel… since he was the one paying the bill for our wedding ring. ( as you can already see, my above points to you)

We started hunting for our wedding ring from Dec last year itself… but only got THE ONE in april..we really did take our time to choose and pick.

Once,we did put a downpayment for our ring at one of the jewelery shop but 3 weeks later decided to not take the ring…of cos, downpayment forfeited but that’s another different story.We decided to wait for 2010 design instead of taking last year design after putting some thoughts and asking advice from family members.

I must say, our wait did paid off.. not only i got the one that i really like ( albeit getting the ONE was really though because the other blings was calling me too ) but i got it at a real good price because the shop was really having a crazy sales!  Apparently the crazy sales was on because diamond price will go up by 4% from May onwards.. now this news..im not sure how far true it will be… but that’s what the salesman said…so me cuma menyampaikan saja…

So instead of paying the original price of my wedding ring..which to me personally was a hefty price to pay.. ( Im not rich and so is Daniel, please don’t get me wrong..bukan mau menunjuk) im proud to say..we manage to get my ring cheaper than what we budgeted and yet..i got the design and look that i wanted!

so here’s the ring…. and i got this not from one of those diamond branded name shop..but only from WAH CHAN Jewelry shop

Im happy with my choice. Price wise (after discount that is!) and design too

And this is his ring… We got it from MY DIAMOND shop..no this is not one of those super expensive diamond shop..but very similar to wah chan standard.

So my advice once again-

discuss..discuss..discuss…compromise…compromise..compromise…always always be patience and hunt for the best discount that you can ever find…trust me…jewelry shop will always have their discount just around the corner..well wah chan did ;D

P/s: My nails is done DIY… and its an extension too, in case you wondering. AHAKS!

A Kettlebell is a centuries-old Russian training tool that looks like a bowling ball with a handle. The kettlebell appears in a 1704 Russian Dictionary (Cherkikh, 1994).

It appears that, originally, kettlebells were counter-weights used in Russian markets. Country folk started throwing them around and eventually they became very popular in Russia as a training tool. In 1913 the Russian magazine Hercules reported “Not a single sport develops our muscular strength and bodies as well as kettlebell athletics.” A Russian strong man was referred to as a kettlebell man –girevik. Girya is Russian for Kettlebell. Although kettlebells develop strength, a kettlebell-trained body is not bulky. quoted  from – Sonomafit.com

Great, fun and effective workout!

And to those who wants to learn and know how is this equipment used for workout, check this video from youtube My favourite is the turkish get up!  ( but in the vid, it is only  half  turkish get up)

I am ready to be  the wife to Mr Daniel Franklin Gomez

We’ve been very busy lately specially the weekend. Never really had a time to sit, relax and enjoy the weekend anymore like how we used to be hehe..but im enjoying every second of it. Although it is really tiring but heck…im not complaining at all, LOL!! Which woman would complain when you get to try on like tonnes of beautiful gown and make you feel like a princess at every fitting kan?

This was one of the gown fitting i did at Pretty in White in Hartamas… Love the detailing on the train…i think its gorgeous but nope..this is not gonna be my wedding gown ;P ni teaser saja ba…

Ba ok la..im off to check out online backup. I need that magic lil stuff to store all my pictures and work. My laptop memory is getting “stuffier” by day now..:P

Floating village..

I really enjoy this boat ride. despite me being wet with the unpredictable weather in Krabi

See… exactly what i said.. sekejap sana tu awan jadi hitam.. and bikin takut ar, sebab the wind was soo strong macam ada ribut pula sia rasa kadang kadang.

Me, riding bike on my own. I manage juga.. tapi inda la pi jalan raya.. only at the  hotel parking area. Best pula kan ride motor ni…LOL!LOL!

This was taken on the day we’re leaving Krabi…hahah kesian ba kami .. kepunan matahari Krabi.

Just like the signage i was holding said.. this restaurant serve clean and good food!! Yummy.. tapi jangan harap makanan sini murah sangat….1 beef, vege , tom yam soup (small), 2 steam rice and 2 drinks.. can cost you up to Rm 34-36  but you won’t regret it la.

Ba sia mau surf  and look for tv stands dulu, i think it’s time for me to do so.. get a new tv stand at home

Ba, till then. Nite peeps.

Our transportation to airport to hotel and vise versa.. included in our package. Taking Taxi will cost your 600 baht per way

This is the scenery you get to see in Krabi.. i like the bukit bukit or gunung gunung di sana..cantik!

Our hotel name..i recommend this place if you ever visit Krabi..:)

Our room

The balcony of our room..

The mat rempit of the year!!

Boat ride to the famous landmark/symbol of Krabi

The famous symbol..unfortunately..i can’t remember the name.

The cave.. my first cave visit. Interesting yet scary for me…LOL!

The dancing mangrove.

Stay tune.. more pictures will be uploaded..for now me wanna sleep..nite people.

As you all may already know, we spent our weekend at Krabi this time around as our post engagement holiday. It was really fun! I really enjoyed the short weekend trip.

We arrived on Friday afternoon only to be greeted by rainy, cloudy and windy weather. The hotel coordinator told us that the weather has been like that for the past few days and may last till weekend. My heart sank when i heard the news.As soon as we reach the hotel, we waste no time and went out to check Krabi Pranang beach area. Before we stroll down the beach, Dan suggested that we should rent a motorbike to go around town and head we go hunt for motorbike rental place. Five minute walk later.. we found the place. For 200 baht per day (rm20) and we have our own “superbike” to travel in Krabi.

I was kinda nervous at first when Dan start the motorbike, it was my first time riding bike with him and that was his first too after his accident 10 years ago, LOL!! But after a while, we both had fun, laughing and Dan’s making funny sound and comments while riding the bike…ah.. that was quite an experience for me..oh did i mentioned? I also pandai pandai start motorbike and rode for about 200 meter back and forth..heheh that was fun..but i dont think i will do that here in Malaysia. Sini scary la.

Anyway, on the second day weather was still  gloomy and our island trip has to be cancelled due to choppy sea and unpredictable weather. We decided to extend the bike rental and took a trip down to Krabi town about 30 km away from where we stayed. At town, we took a boat to I can’t remember the river name now but it was suppose to bring us to this famous Krabi landmark. Along the way, we stop at one spot where we were allowed to go into a cave..that was scary yet exciting for me.. i never been to a cave before in my whole life..so that was the first (again) for me.

After the cave trip, the boat man took us to canal of mangrove.. i see lots and lots of kayu bakau “menari”. The way the tree intertwined with each other…really look like they were dancing. But the first thing pops in my mind when i saw the mangrove  was the dogs that was thrown at pulau ketam i wonder what happen to those dogs… sigh.. i hope every single of them was rescued now.

After the boat ride, which cost us 300 baht each (rm30 per person for an hour) we were suppose to go and climb this tiger cave with 1200 steps! Yes, you read that right 1200 steps.. but hahahah..someone said..er.. lets cancel that one and just go to gastrpod fossil beach.. and hop we go to that beach..sampai sana…hmm it was kinda dull for us.. so we didnt want to waste another Rm20 per person just to see batu or siput kerang yg sudah bertahun lama di dalam laut and jadi fossils… so we just did bit of shopping and went back home straight to hotel.

All in all.. the trip was really relaxing,fun and enjoyable  despite being disappointed for not being able to go to Phi Phi island and enjoy the white sandy beach as how Leonardo Dicaprio get to enjoy it in his movie called THE BEACH.

Dan and i promise we will come back to Krabi again soon to enjoy the island next round.

For now, i need to check this fat burner out ;P

Can you guess how much does this food and drink cost me in Jakarta? If you have been following my post about Jakarta, im sure you will be able to guess the price…. roughly.

Nothing is cheap when it comes to mall food court and not knowing many places where i can get food that similar to Malaysia food. i don’t have much choice but to have my lunch and dinner at mall food court. I wish i had someone bringing me around though..unfortunately…no one was free..sob sob….

But one thing i love about JKT mall food court is their cleanliness!!! It’s wayyyyyyyyy cleaner than Malaysia mall food court…seriously..even their toilets..OMG!!! I think i can even walk kaki ayam in the loo and not feeling disgusted at all, LOL!! And oh…I love the fresh fruit juice too.. its so pure and yummy! Wish i can find one place here in Malaysia where they serve 100% pure juice…no sugar, no ice and less water…hmmm yummy!! Anyone out there know where i can get this??

Anyway, if you are looking for Outer Banks rentals for your holidays outside of Malaysia, just hit the highlighted “note” . I wish i can go to one of the houses…but ….. it would be awesome if i could rent one of the houses there for my honeymoon or even my wedding venue…;) but hmm..mimpi saja la Mel….LOL!

Friday, exactly 7 more days from today i will be done and over with Jakarta life and i will start my new journey in KL. Im am so happy and excited about this but at the same time worried and nervous about it. Im not so sure if my training here did gave me enough confident and knowledge to bring it down to the trainers back in KL. I do hope i have though.

It was hard for me here in Jakarta. That’s the truth..i did enjoyed the time here (people are warm and friendly) but at the same time i had fair amount of “sufferings” as well .

First it was the food..i had hard time adjusting to the food here. Food that was familiar to me back at home was really costly here in Jakarta, cheap food means i have to take the local dish which honestly doesn’t really go well with my taste bud. Then came the language.. this was the toughest part for me. Because of the language barrier, i had hard time trying to understand the training module, speaking to the local and getting around town. You may think they understand us Malaysian but that’s not true..our language is different from them! So if you are coming down to Jakarta..i  suggest that you get a good language book in hand in case you don’t know any local here! Our pronounciation and the way we say it is totally different from them! We may have some word similar but mostly..nope!

Jakarta city offer you alot of shopping malls  and most of them are as big as Pavillion back in KL and barang barang sini pun inda la murah sangat. I can say, it’s similar to what kl can offer you and since price doesnt differ much from kl, i  didnt shop for the first time in my oversees trip.

Jakarta is a metropolis city. Offices was build on sky high building, huge, tall and beautiful! (rental pun sia dengar cantik juga ) But malangnya, the houses here are so scattered that it looks so messy and almost.. menyakitkan mata (i think they need the Outer Banks homes agency to help them )  and the road condition in this housing area really reminds me off jalan Ranau to Sandakan… betul betul rosak cuma beza dia ..you get this di dalam perumahan jakarta di tengah tengah bandar and bukan di kampung.

Im sure by now, you guys know that Jakarta is not the cleanness city you can ever get. Orang sini buang sampah merata rata tempat!  Once i was in a cab on the way to one of the club, the cab driver senang saja buka window trus buang sampah dari dalam kereta like its not a big deal ( memang pun its not a big deal for them but i was so shocked) and another time, i was walking with one of my colleague here..tengah syiok syiok bercerita.. he just spat right there and then in front of me!  I was speechless when that happen..sia kegelian trus, LOL! Mau tell him off..but hmmm.again i don’t think its unusual thing for them.

Yup, thats how i see Jakarta… You may see it differently from me..but hey, we are not the same people right?

But one thing i love about Jakarta is the people… they are so nice warm and lovely! I guess that will be the one thing that i will miss the most about this beautiful yet crazy place the warmed and friendly smile of Jakartan’s!

Anyhow,  some of you have asked me is it worth to come and visit Jakarta..of cos i would say yes! Come and see the place yourself..experienced it! You need to do that to know the place yourself…don’t take my words 100% ..again like i said..we may see it differently tapi i won’t recommend it if you wanna come here alone for a longggggggggg holiday! LOL!!

Night view from level 4 of my apartment.

The not so beautiful sight from my apartment

Another side of my apartment view

]]> http://kadazanbonita.com/2009/07/03/the-transparency-of-jakarta/feed/ 3 http://kadazanbonita.com/2009/05/12/circuit-training/ http://kadazanbonita.com/2009/05/12/circuit-training/#comments Tue, 12 May 2009 04:07:59 +0000 emelda http://kadazanbonita.com/?p=1798 [ad]

week i intend to do CIRCUIT TRAINING instead of the usual weight training.

This type of training can be versatile and it moves quickly because you’re going from one exercise to another instead of doing continuous cardio or straight set training with weights. You can do all strength circuits, all cardio circuits or a mixture of the two for a challenging, calorie-burning workout.

Circuit training combines 8-10 exercises that are completed one right after the other, with little or no rest in between. Perform each exercise for a specified time (like 1 minute), rest for no more than 30 seconds before moving on to the next exercise. Once you complete all exercises, that is considered one circuit. The total number of circuits you complete is up to you. For beginners, start with 30 seconds per exercise and increase the time as you get stronger. Another way to progress is to shorten your rest in between exercises and circuits.

To start, use the following criteria for choosing your exercises:

1. Pick exercises to work each muscle group.
2. Include exercises for agility and endurance (like jumping side-to-side over a phone book)
3. Don’t forget to work on your speed too. Incorporate sprints (if you can) or fast jogging in place.

Circuit training is great for beginners just getting started,because it allows you to build some total body strength while also working on your endurance. This can be great for a number of sports as long as you perform exercises specifically for what you want to accomplish.

Regardless of your goals, circuit training can be a great workout simply because of the variety. Running on a treadmill for 30 minutes or doing the same old machines can get boring over time. If you find you’re losing interest in your routine or that you’ve hit a plateau, think circuit training.

So this week… this is what i have come up with.

Warm up 10- 15 min.

1- Squat with lateral raise. – 1 min

2- Jumping rope- Both feet off the floor at same time.- 1 min

3- Push Up (choose your option, full push up or half push up) – 1 min

4- Star Jump/Jumping Jack – 1 min

5- Plank leg lift- 30 sec on each leg.

* Start in full/on knees push up position keeping the hip,shoulder square and tuck your abs in. Remember wearing the belt as i mentioned last week, yup exactly that you need to do”  Advance level- do this on exercise ball.

6-3 min Run

7-Tricep Dips- 1 min

8-Bicep Curl- 1 min

9-Side to side jump- 1 min

10-Alternate lunges- 1 min

11-Abs Crunches- 1 min

Rest 1 min before the next set workout .

Repeat workout for another round or cool down. You can do this workout 2 – 3 set per workout.

Remember, always do it at your own pace, intensity and level. At the end of the workout STRETCH, STRETCH and STRETCH

“I need to get back in shape before July… pengsan la sia kalau sia keep gaining weight…LOL!”

OK i’ve just finish my workout today and i’m feeling superbly good now. Nothing makes me feels sexier than sweating and working my butt out in the gym ;D Yes, i feel sexy when i am sweating,running on treadmill and felt that i did the best workout for the day. Anyway,since i know some of my readers love to workout too(or at least want to know tips)..i thought why not share what do i do when im down in the gym..working my butt off!

First thing first..i do not like to do the same workout routine every time but still maintain the basic of it. Example: If i want to work my tricep..instead of doing tricep pushup (which i did day before) i’ll change it to tricep dips today..just to keep myself motivated. I get bored really fast if i do the same thing over and over again. Moreover, your body need that “surprise” workout everynow and then…this is to prevent your muscle from getting TOOOO comfortable with the routine. You get me?

Before i lift any weights or do any body toning workout..i normally would run  my ass out on the treadmill/cross-trainer/bicycle or just me running around the room like “orang gila” for at least 15 min .. if not  the 15 min benchmark, then it will be my min requirement, burned 100 cal before i stop..LOL! Senang ja tu to reach 100 cal per time..:D “kalau sia lari lari around the room..sia pakai minit la..not calories burned.

*15 min cardio as a start for all beginners is sufficient enough and slowly increase the time once you are comfortable with your workout routine”

Then i would be doing some weights or toning workout.  My must workout routine is pretty much everything,LOL!! I start with my lower body..and then move on to my upper body and lastly (its a must) my abs and lower back.

And then i finish off with my stretch..again…stretching is really really important….this will help you losen up all those muscle after your workout…stretching will also help lessen the workout pain the next day…not 100% but at least better sikit badan the next day. And oh..this also will help you lenghten your muscle..unless you want your muscle to be berketul ketul la bila it fully developed…LOL!!

That’s how i workout out peeps… if u wanna know more ..u know what to do…tell me

Are you looking for diamond rings? If yes…click the link gurls!! happy hunting…