I used to weigh just right, before I gave birth I was never worried about my weight, about plus size wear, about diets etc. Then, when I got pregnant I just ballooned. I wasn’t worried coz I thought I’ll just lose it after I gave birth.

After Chinks was born, a year after we came to Phnom Penh and for  months we didn’t have any helper so I had to do everything. It was definitely a way for me to lose weight. I still ate a lot, but the added exercise of doing a housework which I wasn’t accustomed to plus the stress of being in a foreign place just made it easy. No need for quick weight loss diet to get the weight I wanted.

Then we went back to the Philippines, and a couple of months after I started my fashion accessory business. This required lots of time with me sitting down. I fell into a very sedentary lifestyle, plus we lived almost right next to a mall and eating out was almost like an everyday thing. Before I knew it I was heavier than my after-birth weight.

I did try to lose weight but mostly with half-hearted efforts. I even bought a stationary bike and I only used it for a month and it went to the stock room. It’s only now that I’m really seriously getting into achieving a healthy weight. I’ve decided I want to lose weight not in a fast way, but more in a steady, balanced way.

I’m slacking off, I know. Not with blogging though, I’m pleased to say since February I’ve been posting regularly hahaha. I dunno, it just helps me cope with homesickness and missing my parents back home in the Philippines. It must also be because I know were going home in July. (I hope my mother won’t read this, and for my relatives checking this out, PLS. don’t tell my parents about our vacation in July, its supposed to be a surprise for them)  It should be a secret but I can’t help blabbering about it again, that’s how excited I am about going home for a long vacation. Lol! I just hope they won’t find out in advance so they can enjoy the surprise of seeing Chinkee again. Did I mention they don’t really miss me but only Chinks? Hayy, I’ve resigned myself to being ignored since I gave them a grandchild. Haha, seriously I don’t mind, I find it very amusing though, how my parents dot on my daughter.

Anyway, this post is about reminding myself again what I have to do this March..Some sort of checklist for me, I’m placing it here because it pressures me to accomplish the task.

Home and Shopping..

• Look for an area rug and some of those Khmer style floor/sitting cushions.
• Look for a door chime or maybe make one myself.
• Nag Graciously ask Hi-ace about painting or tiling the front stairs.
• Re-pot my bougainvilleas.
• Visit Boeung Keng Kang Market again and hunt for 4 panels of embroidered curtains.
• Shop for tank top shirts or thin cotton shirts. Should not get sidetracked with cute kid stuff =)
• Look for a backpack. I can’t find my other bag and I need one before the 26th.

Crafts..

• Check O’Russey Market for some seed beads. Japanese or Czech variety will do.
• Also for some beading thread.
• Continue downloading beading patterns.
• Make some beading patterns with my bead tool.
• Search for suppliers of polymer clay online. I had no luck finding it here in Phnom Penh, hayy!

Web and Blogging

• Finish uploading plugins to my new blog – Lui-Bloggera.
• Update other blogs.
• Finish TaskWise schedule reminders.
• Upload free ad spot banners and headers. (I keep forgetting this!!)
• Visit and read more blogs..

Important (yeah  these are really important)

• More cardio exercises.. jumping rope go, go, go!
• Veggies and fruits only for dinner. I should go with this strictly. lol!
• Buy dumbbells.

Leisurely Saturday..

I love weekends like this. Just doing nothing, spending the day with Hi-ace, Chinks and Ouwie. It rarely happens that all of us are not busy, more often than not we have someplace else to go even during weekends. Hi-ace didn’t have any meetings, trips or classes. When its like this we take advantage of the time to just be together.

Yesterday morning was spent just lazing around, sleeping till 8 am, eating a leisurely breakfast, then we played board games. Afternoon we spent biking around Phnom Penh. It’s been awhile since we’ve done this and I had a fun time. We also brought Chinks to the bookstore since she had been asking for some art supplies.

We also browsed those sidestreet vendors along Monivong Blvd., offering printing of business cards and wedding invitations. We both want to have some printed and those sidestreet sellers are really offering value for printing services. 100 pcs of business cards cost just less than $10 depending on the design and you can also have your own design printed for an additional fee. As for the wedding invitations, hmm they have a wide variety of designs some amusing, some cute, some very elaborate and some really with lots of embellishments. I didn’t inquire about the price though hehe..

Sunday shopping..

Hi-ace and Chinks went with Ma to visit their uncle in Kandal province. They left about 6:30 am so I had some free time to do some shopping. Food shopping was done first, of course, in Russian Market (Phsar Toul Tompong). Got our week’s supply of vegetables, meat, fish and fruits. Shopping in local markets is now a breeze for me, I already have regular suki vendors so I get a good price plus freebies.Ouwie and I also roamed around the clothing section coz I was planning to buy some tank tops. The summer heat is getting unbearable so I wanted to have some cotton shirts. After browsing several stalls I found myself buying stuff for Chinks instead. Bought her a couple of shirts and I also found lots of cute swimwear and I also got her some since she’s taking swimming lessons already in school.

10:30 am, the market was already crowded so Ouwie and I decided to escape from the crowds and headed for a cup of coffee at the Coffee Korner just off the Russian Market. This has already been our favorite coffee place after doing our shopping rounds of Phsar Tuol Tompong.

Hi-ace and Chinks got back around 12 noon, so now were all lazing around again. Me, writing this really lazy post, Hi-ace watching TV, Chinks tumbling around the floor and Ouwie reading a book. Wish every weekend would be like this haha! I should really get back to reality..

Here in Phnom Penh one of the places to be is the riverfront. Officially known as Sisowath Quay, the riverfront is a great place to stroll, to join those ever popular mass tai chi and aerobics sessions, eat in the numerous cafes and restaurants lining the street, feed the pigeons in the park right in front of the Royal Palace, to shop for some souvenirs, and to simply sit and enjoy the river views.

As for us, we like driving around this place, getting ourselves a place to sit and people watch for an hour or two, just taking in the vibe of the place. It has been something like our favorite weekly ritual since we started living in Phnom Penh.  I always have a camera with me, a digital camera if I’m toting a handbag with me, or my phone with a camera if I just have my favorite wrist pouch with me. So since I’m compulsive about taking photos, I didn’t realize I’ve collected a good number of photos of Phnom Penh riverside. Let me just share..

The Royal Palace… taken before 7 am, the best time to take photos here I think..

Rows of Flags.. Chinks likes these. She gets to name which country a flag belongs to..

The other side of the road.. lined with hotels, cafes, restos..

Viewing deck…

Chinkee loves feeding the pigeons..

Newly revamped riverside park right before the port..

More on my PHOTOS page..

It was a really boring afternoon last Saturday. We were planning to revive Chinkee’s pond in a pot. Last time it had lots of fishes already but somebody played with it while we were not around and all her fishes died. She has been asking to have it again, Hi-ace though is always busy to take care of it. We were planning to buy a small garden pond filter and some fishes but we got distracted walking around the malls. Before we knew it twas early evening already. We had early dinner in KFC, came back home then watched TV. We realized we still had time to kill before bedtime, so I decided to raid my closet to organize my clothes. All things I don’t use anymore I packed for donating. I love doing this, I almost always unearth something I’ve forgotten that I have.

I was digging, digging, sorting when I saw a gauzy black empire cut dress a friend gave me last year. I haven’t worn it coz its too short for me, I could wear it with leggings but I always thought I don’t look good on leggings (hehe with my fat legs and all..). But I kept this dress coz I like its stretchy bodice, I mean even if I get totally huge, I could still wear it..Lol! Anyway, my little fashionista and kikay daughter saw it and tried it on. I had to tie the back with a ribbon so it wouldn’t fall off. Haha! She was giggling and asked me to fix her hair, ‘Tie it up, please Mommim and take photos of me..”

Lol! We had loads of fun taking photos again. Hmm, this is something that I really like about living in Phnom Penh. Life is simple, at an unhurried pace so I get to enjoy and play silly games like this with Chinks.

So here she is..And no I didn’t tell her how to pose. She just posedand pouted by herself with me just snapping photos with my phone’s camera..

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