Family Reunions

It's great to be part of a large family. When we were growing up there were lots of squabbles and tears and fights but now that we are all adults, there is a lot to be said for being part of a large family.

Large families are no longer the norm. Nowadays the family is usually a 2 or 3-child family. Some have only one child, citing that it is very expensive to bring up and to educate a child, especially if you want the child to have the best of everything.

But what a loss there is, to the only child. Not only will he miss having a sibling to share or squabble with...... think of the useful experiences that will serve him in good stead later on. The bond between siblings is like no other.

True, when you are young, you fight and hate each other but in the end, blood is thicker than water and somehow the closeness is always there.

I'm very lucky to have come from a large family of ten siblings, three boys and seven girls, me being the oldest. The youngest in our family is a boy, well, boy no longer but a very personable man in his prime, with a family of his own, a lovely daughter and a smart son, both of whom are now working in Down Under. All of us have come a long way and despite having lost two sisters to cancer, the ties and bonds are still very strong.

Whenever I'm back in Kuala Lumpur, the family seat, there is always a reunion of sorts. My youngest brother is usually the host and he gets everyone to meet for dinner. The last dinner was a few nights ago in Bangsar Village and the dishes he ordered were very tasty indeed although very pricey.

There were twelve of us, siblings and spouses with two teenaged children and my adult daughter. We dug into the dishes with gusto and by the end of the evening, we were replete with full stomachs. Here are some pictures of what we ate. I really liked the roasted pork- the two types, pork fillet (char siew) and the belly pork (siew yuk) with very crispy skin. The steamed garoupa was fresh but nothing out of the ordinary. The taufoo was nicely done topped with minced pork and salted radish ( choi po ). The hokkien mee, touted as the best, to me was just on par with those that I've eaten at other outlets. The chili could be improved as it was too dry, the belacan ( shrimp paste with pounded chili ) aroma wasn't there.

The other dishes were the

usual vegetables that can be

found anywhere.

The best part of the evening was the meeting up with my siblings and catching up......who's going where, when and further plans for the next catch-up session.

I made a date with my younger sister and her two girls for a special breakfast recommended by my son who had insisted that I check it out. He found it special and very tasty so that is something to look forward to, since my nieces are very busy and we hardly have time for a good natter. Sunday breakfast will do nicely indeed.

A Matter of Choice

As earlier said, we are what we eat. So a fat person is fat because of what he has eaten throughout his life. He did not get fat overnight. Obesity develops from childhood days.

We Chinese are partial to plump babies. We love to cuddle them and feed them, so much so that we soon have miniature sumo wrestlers toddling around. Plump children soon become plump teenagers who in turn become fat adults if they did not slim down during their adolescence.

Many baby boomers have become obese, myself included. Mind you, an obese person need not be fat. She can be of average build yet be considered obese. It depends on your Body Mass Index and Body Fat ratio. If you have a lot of abdominal fat, chances are you have metabolic syndrome which puts you at risk of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, high cholesterol, etc., etc.

So we have become a vast market for those in the wellness business. We need to lose weight in order to reduce our health risks. There are many ways to lose weight. Many diets have been promoted, high protein, low fat, etc. The choice is great and we are free to choose whichever one we think will help us to lose the extra pounds that we carry on us. Don't you think that we are lucky to be able to choose from the many forms of help available?

There are detox programmes that will flush out the toxins and fat from our systems, exercise regimes to tone our bodies while we lose weight and the numerous low calorie shakes that promise to keep us feeling full even as we shed the pounds. Then there are the different pills that promise to melt the fat off us while we still eat the food we love. So it is up to us to choose how we want to lose weight. In fact many of us feel that the faster we lose weight, the better.

Whatever we choose we need to bear in mind that moderation is key. While we ingest pills or restrict our diets to lose weight, we must also exercise in order to succeed in keeping the pounds off. Many have lost weight only to gain it back because they did not have a consistent exercise regimen to go along with the weight loss. Exercise keeps us healthy and our body muscles toned. No, there's no need to pump iron or do torturous sit ups. Just a daily brisk walk of about 40 minutes is enough. Those who would like further information may like to check this out.
http://tinyurl.com/ljwjnh

Choices

It's all about choices. Sometimes we make the right choice, other times it turns out to be a wrong one. Whichever it is, most times there is no turning back.

We are what we eat..... how true this has turned out to be, especially in my case. You know, when one is young, one takes one's health for granted. It never strikes you that your body is vulnerable, that by eating the "wrong" things, you could be setting up your body for a nasty surprise sometime in the future.

I've always had a sweet tooth and I'm now paying for it. Yes, I've got the disease that my doctor says " it's a disease you don't ever want to get". It's the terrible Diabetes Type 2. I had already been warned by someone that since both my parents have it, I would have a 99% chance of getting it. Ever the optimist, I thought that I would belong to the 1% where I wouldn't get it. Boy, was I wrong!
I was diagnosed a few years ago. I have the feeling that I dropped into it because I was greedy. It had been a horrible stretch of dry hot days and I was ever so hot and thirsty, so I ate lots of ice-cream. I love creamy ice-cream. Everyday I indulged in ice-cream. Little did I know that unusual thirst is a symptom of diabetes. Thus by eating lots of sweet things I pushed myself into the dreaded disease of diabetes.

Sigh.... now I cannot eat the food I love most...... ice-cream, chocolates, durian, potato chips & crisps and the list goes on. You know, when the doctor saw my blood test results, he frowned and said that I've got to bring the figures down.

I've got books on how to control diabetes, what to eat, etc etc. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.....you know what I mean? So sneakily I have an occasional ice-cream, a few squares of chocolate, sugar free chocolates, biscuits, jam.....all sugar-free but my daughter warns me..... it's no good for you.

My sister tells me..... you only die once, eat what you like, we have to die anyway and it's already pre-ordained, the manner of our death. Small comfort but somehow it makes the eating less guiltful.

So what have I been up to lately? My significant other and I have been to a centre which has these seatpads linked to a machine called Dr Tron and we sit on them, together with all the other elderly people, for about 20 minutes and then we sit in a spa, called Ezy detox where we sweat it out for about 15 minutes. After that we go for the far infrared lamp which is supposed to heal our aches and pains. A friend who has been using it for a couple of months testified that she has a better complexion..... her liver spots have faded.

I've been for about 3 weeks and I must say that the spa is good. It's akin to the soaking in the spa waters in Japan. A lot of sweat after 15 minutes. I would have liked to remain in it for longer but then there's a queue and the 15 minutes had already given me a good sweat.

Since there is a current promotion on, I decided to purchase Dr Tron and it comes with the spa as a free gift. My friend who also purchased it said it was a good buy and I'm eagerly anticipating the arrival of Dr Tron and my spa. It will be good to have it at home so that we can both enjoy the benefits of Dr Tron and the spa. The spa is actually a tent which has hot air circulating inside. Many people have testified to the good health benefits that they have experienced such as normalising of their high blood pressure. I look forward to having my blood sugars revert to normal if that is possible!

Friends & Fairs

Last weekend was a packed one. Saturday morning was a fun-filled morning with friends, all staked out in Karen's computer lab with Johan and Alex teaching a group of ladies how to twitter and to network using Facebook.

We had many a hilarious moment thanks to Johan and Hanaa. The ladies attending this workshop are all members of SWEPA, a biz network that helps women entreprenuers and it also plays an active role in the community. The morning hours flew by as we tried out the various features in Facebook, guided by our two trainers. It was an exciting learning experience under the capable tutelage of both the young gentlemen. We will soon be tweetering once we get more familiar with it.

Sunday afternoon saw a few of us gathering at 1Borneo shopping mall where a handicraft exhibition featuring Malaysian batik and handicraft was showcased.

The beautiful batik designs and the striking colours of the baju kurung ( a traditional costume favored by Muslim ladies ) attracted many women shoppers. There was also a good range of batik shirts for men. Creativity was the hallmark of the modern designs of the batik. Some of the colour schemes were arresting and there were a few elegant designs. A fashion show brought out the beauty of the batik, so very different from the traditional designs of yesteryears.

The handicraft stalls featured beaded necklaces in the distinctive local patterns, the traditional gongs, parangs ( short or longish knives ), woven boxes and placements, small baskets to house trinkets, larger ones for fruit, small souvenirs, etc. There was also a loom with the weavers demonstrating their art.

We made some purchases and called it a day.