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My feet are happy today June 17, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Relax & Celebrate , 24comments

I paid RM18 to feed myself to the fish today!

Well….not my whole self…just my feet…. Yup that’s right, baby! … I visited the newly opened Happy Feet Fish Spa at New World Park today, and indulged in an errrmmm…relaxing session of foot therapy. When I heard that the fish spa was opening in Penang, I got all excited because ever since I read about Paris’s experience with the fish at Kenko Fish Spa, I had been yearning to experience it for myself. And now that a similar spa is available in Penang, I don’t need to wait till my next KL trip. I was curious to find out if the famous Garra Rufa fish or Doctor Fish would be able to give me smooth and glowing skin on my feet, and get rid of my calluses, dry skin and cracked heels. Quite a lot to ask of some tiny fish, eh?

But when I asked my hubby if he was interested, he proudly proclaimed that he did not have any dead skin on his feet… bah. So then I asked Susan if she wanted to take the opportunity of the special opening rate at the spa, and she was more than happy to :) . Happy Feet Fish Spa was offering the 30 minutes session at a special rate of RM18 till June 18th (normal price is RM28 per half hour). The spa is located right next to Nyonya Cafe and looks just like a regular shop lot from the outside, but the interior was decorated with little rectangular ponds and square orange cushions were placed in rows beside the pond for customers to sit on.

After paying the RM18, we were ushered to the back of the shop, given a pair of straw slippers, and told to wash our feet with jet sprays of water. We were also given a mini towel (not even the size of a hand towel) to dry our feet before and after the session.

Then we started the *therapy*. The first few seconds were rather ticklish, I would say, but not as ticklish as a foot reflexology session which I don’t think I can endure. The Garra Rufa fish were rather shy at first, and only a few came to my feet. But then after a while, a host of them were going at it, nibbling and biting away the dead skin like nobody’s business. Shows how much dead skin I have on my feet eh?

I realized that if I kept my feet very still, more fish would come, and of course, I welcomed them all, because it made my money’s worth.

There were a few curious people who walked into the store and asked us what the experience was like, and one woman was squealing as she placed her feet into the water. Her daughter daren’t even put her feet in!

And even though we paid for 30 minutes’ worth, the lady manning the store was kind enough to give us an extra 5 minutes. Well, two pretty girls sitting near the door is definitely good publicity, is it not? :lol: In the end, she actually forgot about us, and we were still sitting there, enjoying the fish’s nibblings when it was already 45 minutes past, so we took the initiative and got out ourselves.

Truth be told, my feet did feel softer and suppler, though the cracked heels did not miraculously disappear. Dang! I suppose I should not have expected one session to do wonders huh? Surprisingly though, the skin on my feet did not shrivel up, despite the long period in the water.

Did I enjoy the therapy?  Most definitely YES.  Would I visit the spa again? Maybe… well for one thing, they should fix the air conditioning in the store, because it was out just now. And I might even consider revisiting if they do introduce a full body treatment next. And guys, I think Happy Feet Fish Spa is a really innovative idea for a date :)

And whoa…how hungry do you think these fish are anyways? Or rather…what a load of dead skin I have on my feet….look at those Garra Rufa fish, still nibbling away after 45 minutes!

Three-week zombie = me June 6, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Relax & Celebrate, Thoughts & Scribblings , 11comments

As if I didn’t have enough bags and dark circles under my eyes already, the next three weeks are threatening to make me even more of a zombie than I am now. Be prepared to see me dragging my even more weary self to work every morning.

Just when we thought we were gonna start suffering withdrawal symptoms from the lack of footie action, with no more BPL action till months later, and all we get to watch are tennis matches and F1 races, tomorrow …. everything is gonna changed.


Photo credits

Bring out your kopi KHAU, your football jerseys and your lucky charms, because tomorrow….. Euro 2008, the football tournament that is second only to the World Cup, will be brought LIVE to your very own living room on THREE dedicated channels on Astro! I don’t foresee that I will be able to watch all the matches though. One: they are broadcasted at unearthly hours, and two: my son might require my attention just as that crucial goal is being scored. I just hope I will be able to watch those kan cheong nail-biting penalty shootouts uninterrupted. But the fever, the passion and the excitement will definitely be channeled all the way from Austria and Switzerland to our very own shores.

I wonder if I will hear the screams of “Goaaaalllllllll!!!!!!” in the wee hours of the morning, followed by thuds and stomps, evidently from the jumping around that ensues after goals are being scored. It is inevitable, I suppose, since I live in a condo. Hey, those *sounds* might even be coming from my own home… wuahahaha….!!!

I wonder what team England fans are supporting. As for me, no doubt about it. It’s gonna be France all the way!

Allez allez Les Bleus!!


Photo credits

Allez Henry! Allez Ribéry! Allez Allez Allez!!!

Hundred-year lane lunch June 2, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Drooling & Cooking, Relax & Celebrate, Thoughts & Scribblings , 7comments

We almost always tend to ignore the simplicity of life. Meals almost always have to cost a lot to taste good. But in reality, all you need is good company, a decent parking spot near the kopitiam and hope that the shop is open. Haha….my hubby and I have had a 50% success rate with the Xin He kopitiam on Lorong Seratus Tahun. We’ve only attempted to eat there four times, and out of that, only twice have we succeeded. And now we know they close on Thursdays.

Anyway, today, since I am nursing a cough and a slightly sore throat, I will be all goody-goody and eat koay-teow th’ng. I even had ampula-sui-boey for its supposedly good and curative effects on the throat…..

…..and then I will fight fire with fire and have a bowl of insatiable assam laksa. Good?

Ohhhh…sweet bag o’mine June 2, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Relax & Celebrate , 5comments

I simply love receiving mails. Even better if they are parcels or packages. And last week, I got one all the way from UK. And even though I already knew what it contained, it still didn’t take away the novelty feeling of receiving something in the mail (bills excluded, of course!). I opened the parcel right away, and was immediately stunned at how pretty the Jane Norman bag looked.

Very bling bling, very floral and very girly. Exactly what it looked like in the picture on Zoop’s Life when I entered the contest. It even has a mini detachable pouch included. I immediately went into mental scanning mode and kept in mind which outfit I had that would go well with it. Such was the eagerness which overwhelmed me when I held the bag in my hands. Okay la, I exaggerated a little bit there.

Got this bag simply by entering one of the many contests Zoop’s Life runs. This one required participants to guess the price of a Calvin Klein belt, and no, contrary to what you might be thinking that I googled the price of the belt or somethin’, I actually just *tembaked* the price based on what I remembered a belt like that cost in US when I last saw it. Then I converted it to sterling pounds, and that was it :) I didn’t get the price on the dot though, but my guess of £15.5 was the closest to the answer which was £15. And now I have a new shopping bag! Woohooooo……!!!!! Thank you, Sue! Looking forward to more contests to come!

Stress-related blindness?? March 21, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Relax & Celebrate, Thoughts & Scribblings , 13comments

Last Monday, my hubby told me about a rather strange email he had received from a very good friend of his. He deemed it strange because although my hubby and this friend of his get along really really well, he couldn’t, for the life of him, understand why that email was sent.

The email went something like this:

Subject: I will be busy this week

I will be busy the whole of this week because I have to host my friend Lewis on his 2nd trip to KL

And attached in the email was the following picture:

I, too, thought it was a rather odd email but we figured that our friend was just up to one of his crazy antics again.

It wasn’t till the next morning, just before I dropped my hubby off at work, that it suddenly hit me… that Lewis in the photo bore a striking resemblance to Mr Lewis Hamilton!! With the Formula 1 hitting Malaysian shores this weekend in Sepang, everything suddenly made perfect sense! That email must have been a bragging tool for my hubby’s friend! D’oh!

It’s a wonder why and how we didn’t realize it when we saw the picture…turns out that our friend actually met Lewis in the same plane and of course, who wouldn’t ask for a photo, eh?  He says that Lewis is a really polite and soft-spoken guy.

So there you have it…a truly “duh”-fying moment brought to you courtesy of The Giddy Tigers. Over and out.

Have a blessed Good Friday, everyone!

X marks on the lormaikai March 8, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Relax & Celebrate, Thoughts & Scribblings , 10comments

Here’s wishing LB the very happiest birthday today!  May you have all the lormaikais you have ever hoped for and all the Canning Garden chee cheong fun you ever wanted…sorry, I don’t have a picture of the ccf though.  Never mind, soon you will be back in Malaysia so you can eat as much as your tummy can hold, can?

How very coincidental for LB to have his birthday fall on polling day today.  In a few hours’ time (of course after I have had a good good night’s rest), Malaysians will throng polling centers nationwide to queue up and put the X where it should be.  Pity though about the cancellation of the use of the indelible ink on the fingernails of voters.  I was hoping to take a picture of my index finger with the ink marking and posting it proudly here too.

After the elections, come the results.  And the entire nation will be waiting with bated breath to find out the outcome.  I will certainly look forward to the cleaning up of all the posters and banners that have littered the roads for the past few weeks, that’s for sure.  Well, until then…I’m calling it a night now.  Remember to vote wisely…

All red, all ong, yeehaaa!! March 4, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Memes & Tags, Relax & Celebrate , 14comments

Although red is one of my favorite colors, I have not been wearing a lot of it lately. And this being tagged by Slavemom has reminded me of that. I don’t know why myself. Maybe I just didn’t take any photos of myself in red that much anyway. Too bad I can’t tell from photos what color underwear I am wearing though, otherwise…

Anyway, my hunt for a photo of myself garbed in red finally resulted in this one, taken sometime mid of last year. Aiya, already posted in Ethan’s blog, no need to post again, kua…? Coincidentally, Ethan was dressed to match my outfit (and so was my hubby). Yes, we like to plan these little little things… hehe…This was a red cheongsam I had tailormade for Chinese New Year some years ago, and thankfully can still fit into.

But to satisfy the requirements for this tag, I MUST put up a picture of someone in RED, yes? Ethan looks good in red…so here’s an oldie but goodie, taken when he was only 4 months’ old. This was one of his favorite rompers and I love seeing him in it.

Okay, now who’s up for more ONG ONG Red??? Must tag:

Simple American - how not to tag the birthday boy?
Rinnah - always a good taggee
Paik Ling - because I finally spoke to you today!

START COPY HERE

Here are the rules:

1. Post YOUR photo wearing red, may it be a red top, bottom, the least would be red accessories if you hate wearing red… If you can’t find one, you still have an option. Either post your Significant Other’s photo or your child’s photo, if you have one. Of course, they should be wearing red.

2. Let us know the reason why you were wearing red that particular day. Was it your birthday? Is red your fave color or was it the shirt that you first saw in your closet that day?

3. Tag 3 people close to your heart. By the way, they have to be in your blogroll. No cheating heart pleaseeeeeeee!

4. Once you’re tagged, could we please keep it going - just for this month?

END HERE.

And, finally…here’s wishing Simple American the very best birthday ever! Miss reading your posts…please make a comeback to the blogosphere!

C’mon baby let’s get away February 26, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Close to Heart & Home, Relax & Celebrate , 19comments

I’m back from my very short two-night escapade to KL..no..more like Damansara because that’s where we were most of the time anyway.  In short, it was a very fruitful and eventful trip, the excitement of which started even before we left Penang on that Saturday morning.  My hubby noticed the air pressure in one of the rear tyres of our car was diminishing more so than the rest, and it was a good thing that he noticed a nail stuck to the tyre right before we left.  Not wanting to tempt fate, and taking this as a sign from God, we drove to the tyre shop and had it patched.  We decided to have dim sum brunch after that since we were already hungry.

Off we headed for KL after that.  Surprisingly though, Bidor still called out to us, and we simply had to stop for a quick bite there.  The lure of the Pun Chun wan ton mee was too strong, even though it is now priced at a hefty RM5.25 per plate! The quaint little town of Bidor was already decked in election posters and banners, much more so than in Penang, I would say.

This time round, hubbs and I decided to take Monday off from work, so we had more time to spend in the Klang Valley.  It was a good thing we did, because we managed to achieve a lot of things:

 

 

Alrighty now…it’s high time for me to lose weight.  Hopefully before the polling date…

My New Year reflections February 11, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Relax & Celebrate , 18comments

 

After five days of non-work, coming back to the boring, humdrum life of the office seems such a waste. Well, we are all still very much in the festive spirit of the Chinese New Year, and there are still ten more days to go of angpow giving, and receiving (for some)…and cookie eating…

I’ve already lou-sanged four times thus far, and still counting. Every time has been different from the one before. This year I have tasted vegetarian yee sang, jellyfish ones, salmon ones and the conventional fish kinds. Of course, eating yee sang is merely the tip of the iceberg where my Chinese New Year food experience is concerned. It started with the reunion dinner in Ipoh, where I stuffed myself full of scrumptious home cooking from Mom in Ipoh. Felt like a cow after that. The tau-ewe-bak dish I had cooked and brought from Penang was also added to the array of dishes that filled the table. Then I also had cookies non-stop. We traveled to Taiping on the first day of the New Year where there were so many varieties of pineapple tarts beckoning to me. With all this eating and stuffing, it is no wonder that I found my red cheongsam a little bit snug today. SIGH.

It was a splendid feeling to be back with our loved ones for the New Year. Even though the weather was scorching hot ala Chinese New Year weather, and even though I lost one of the hooks on my brand new pair of silver dangling earrings just less than thirty minutes after I had put them on. Yesterday, I checked with Forever 21 (where I had bought them from) but they told me they don’t carry *spare parts* for their earrings. Guess I shall have to convert the earrings into a pendant or something.

Yes, the balik kampung experience really was a joyful occassion, save for the traffic jams here and there and even though on the morning before we left Taiping for Penang on the second day of New Year, we discovered that the back of our car had been vandalized. Someone with really really itchy hands had scratched the surface of our car, and spelt out the “HA” on the boot. Probably wanted to wish us Happy New Year or something. We are just thankful no one was hurt though.

We returned to the comfort of our home after a marathon day of visiting relatives in Penang.  We had two whole days to laze around and enjoy.  And since it was still the New Year period, I got myself a brand new 2.2 liter electronic rice cooker.  Here’s to more days of chicken rice ahead!  Is it bad that I am already looking forward to the next stretch of holidays?

Usher in the mousey year! February 6, 2008

Posted by The Giddy Tiger in : Close to Heart & Home, Relax & Celebrate , 17comments

Have you gotten everything ready for Chinese New Year yet? Got all the pongkams (mandarin oranges), cookies, pussy willows and cherry blossoms? Got all the spring cleaning done? Got all the new new red red “ong ong” clothes and underwear washed and ironed out? Heh.

Me? I’m almost there…

The rush to get all the necessary new ringgit notes has finally paid off. All the running around from bank to bank, taking numbers and waiting in line, … an annual routine task for me, I’d say… well, since I earned the right the give angpows away, that is. And finally, on Monday, I reap my harvest…Love the crisp feeling and smell of the new notes. Love how smooth they feel in my hands. Love it love it love it! Next up. Packing them into angpow packets for distribution.

Yes, Chinese New Year is definitely a time of giving and of eating. This year, we will spend our Chinese New Year reunion in Ipoh, my hometown. This is the first time I will be back in Ipoh for the reunion since I got married about three years ago. So definitely a lot of eating involved there. Looking forward to the yee sang, jiu hoo char and too thor th’ng. Very the festive indeed.

Like all previous Chinese New Years, we have also prepared New Year hampers for our parents. We also gave a similar one to Ethan’s baby sitter. Preferring instead to have our hampers consist of nutritious food items instead of sweets and candies, we got these hampers from Eu Yan Sang, nicely wrapped and delivered to our doors. Love the sparkle and joy on the faces of our parents when we present it to them. Actually I am secretly wishing someone would give one to me too… hehehe…

So, to everyone celebrating Chinese New Year, a very Keong Hee Huat Chye, Kong Hei Fatt Choy and Xing Nian Kuai Le to you. To everyone traveling home on the roads, drive safely and remember to rest if you are tired. And to everyone enjoying the holidays, have a good well-deserved rest.  Now, bring on the food!