Jillian Michaels : a trainer with a heart

qahina — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 04:18:55 +0000

Last night I watched Losing It with Jillian and I was completely taken by how a family with a lot of issues saved their life through a change of diet and fitness through the training of Jillian Michaels. The family was dealing with a divorce, ovarian cancer and ultimately, depression. The children of the family was very sad to see how their mother succumbed to self-destructive behaviour but they couldn’t talk and help her change so they enlist the help of Jillian Michaels. Within a few weeks Michaels helped them sort out their insecurities. It was very inspiring seeing the family managed to change so much and gained a lot of confidence, trust and love in return. Mr Husband and I watched it and we were very affected by the conclusion; When you love yourself you will take charge of your destiny and won’t submit to the circumstances in your life regardless.

The lesson I got from here was, as a wife and a mother, the task of creating happiness and joy in the family is very much in our hands whether we like it or not. Our moods and behaviour influence the vibe in the family. So it’s with that conscience I need to first, take care of myself and secondly, make sure the whole family indulge in healthy habits. Oh by the way, I have started running on the treadmill again. I don’t want to jinx the effort by telling you but can’t help feeling so empowered that I took up the challenge to work out again against my laziness! *wink

I couldn’t get the full episode of this show online – maybe you could if you google it further. Anyway, I’ll leave you with one of her workout video. Beats having an expensive trainer around because you could actually do it yourself – if you are determine enough. Are you ready?

I got this description of Michaels which I think is quite inspirational too. When I saw Losing It with Jillian I was surprised to see how personal and kind she was to the contestants she dealt with. Then when I read the following I understood why.

taken from Wikipedia:
Jilian Michaels was born in Los Angeles, California, and raised in Santa Monica. Exacerbated by her parents’ divorce when she was 12, she struggled with weight problems during her early teens. In a 2009 episode of The Doctors, Michaels showed a photograph of herself at age 12, saying she weighed 175 pounds (79 kg) and was 5 feet (150 cm) tall. She began to take control of her weight problems at age 14 when her mother signed her up for martial arts classes. By age 17 Michaels was working as a personal trainer.
Michaels attended California State University, Northridge, supporting herself as a bartender and personal trainer during that time. After working briefly as an agent with International Creative Management, in 2002 Michaels opened the sports medicine facility Sky Sport & Spa in Beverly Hills.
Michaels is very family oriented and remains close with her mother, brother and younger sister.She is single and lives in Los Angeles.

tress chic!

qahina — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:13:11 +0000

My daughter wants to have a change of hair colour from her original jet black to some shade brighter. We went to the drugstore and bought two boxes of these:

Revlon Colorsilk Luminista in Medium Blonde. We’ve decided to experiment on the product – it’s halal by the way (that’s my topmost criteria! hehhe). It’s a challenge to change dark hair to lighter colours so I was looking for hair bleach to get the desired shade on the box but hair bleach wasn’t available so we figured to gamble on the result. Look how it turns out:

Well, what do you think? We’ve just blow-dried the hair. The colour under night light looks very natural I must say, and that’s the effect I was looking for. My daughter was very pleased with the results – she says she can pass off as a Korean actress now! hahha Can’t wait to see how the shade looks under the sun tomorrow.

feel good Friday

qahina — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:14:07 +0000

Friday is often my best day of the week. Work is till 12.30pm then I’m almost free to do anything afterwards. I always use my Friday to catch up with friends over lunch, window shop or retreat to the salon or spa for some self-pampering. Why not on weekends you may wonder? I’m off work on weekends but normally I would be caught up with errands, visiting families or entertaining guests so Friday evening is literally my personal time-off slot. So I’m going to dedicate a post on every Friday to what Qahina feels good and luscious about. Do share with me what you feel good about on your Fridays okay. *wink
I was out and about town tending to some errands when I realised I’ve run out of my favourite perfume. So when I had the chance to drop by at The Curve today, I went to buy this:

If you wonder what Chanel No 5 smells like, it’s very much rooted to jasmine and rose. To me, the scent really embodies a very feminine person, and I feel exactly that. I love lace and pearls, frills and swirling frocks and roses. My first bottle of No 5 reminded me of a sweet baby powder scent when I first put it on just a few years ago, and since then I’ve been loyal. I did try to alternate with other perfumes just so to prove my choice wasn’t akin to the label but always go back to my first love.

Do watch the ad for the perfume. Audrey Totou is its latest face and I think that she’s the perfect French woman.

And this is Nicole Kidman’s version of Chanel No 5 before Audrey Toutou takes over, which I think is super romantic and luscious too.

What’s your favourite perfume and why do you like it?

curing oneself through Nature

qahina — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:18:20 +0000

Still on the subject of health, I would like to share with you a video I happened to chance upon when I was researching on cholesterol etc. Happens that Mr Husband is suffering from high cholesterol (we found it out last October) and I’m trying to make sure the food at home is as healthy as possible.

His theories are not new – but it’s often when we’re sick then we’ll look for abovesaid cures. While I don’t completely agree all cancers can be spontaneously cured as suggested, prevention through diet changes and consuming as per recommended is common sense. What blows my mind was when Dr Coldwell mentioned the fact about salt. I quickly throw away my table salt and replace it with natural sea salt and Himalayan rock salt.

(image taken from antidotehealthstore ) priced around RM7-10 a pack

(image taken from antidotehealthstore) priced range from RM3-5 per pack

Of course it’s a tad expensive than the regular salt but these were made through tedious evaporation process hence its worth. Imagine all these while you’ve been consuming processed glass and sand in your regular table salt? Of course your arteries get bruised all the time! So yeah, that was a phenomenal news to me.
Do observe what Dr Coldwell has said in this video. At the end of the day, prevention is better than cure, as I’m learning now.

drink your veggies!

qahina — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:51:45 +0000

Apart from trying hard to be financially-savvy for 2012, I also wish to be healthy and fit. Just before my 34th birthday last December, I met a wonderful lady teacher while I was invigilating the SPM exams and she talked at great length how raw food diet has changed her life. While I’m very much aware of the benefits of phytonutrients, I wasn’t sure how it can be easily integrated into my lifestyle. She introduced me to Dr Thomas Wu’s book and as it was only published in Mandarin, took the trouble to translate the recipes to English. I’m truly indebted to her because I know not many would do this, especially for me. Like who am I to her right, just an accidental colleague for 11 days invigilating exams together! She’s one of those who doesn’t choose who to be kind to, and maybe it’s just God’s way to enlighten me to a better diet and lifestyle through this woman. Nonetheless, I am now practising what I’ve learnt – drink your veggies and fruits! It’s quite tough to seek out accurate servings etc, but Dr Thomas Wu’s recipes really help matches the right fruits and vege for certain benefits. I drink the recommended juice 3 days a week especially on weekdays before I go to work and at dinner. I vary the concoctions so it won’t taste boring. It’s been a month and I will tell you there’s been a significant change in my energy level and eyesight. My vision is very much clearer, thanks to all the carrots and blueberries. And I have less skin breakout – maybe there’s more oxygen in my blood compared to before. I was told if I continue this diet for more than 3 months my blood circulation will be much better. It all makes sense you know. If I’m dilligent enough I won’t need supplements because I’m feeding myself with nature’s superfood.
By the way, I’m not completely dependant on Dr Wu’s anticancer smoothies. While he’s good, I believe noone’s complete in their approach so I also read other Raw Food Diet practioner. Please do not jump to conclusion that I have turned all vegetarian! Sad to claim, I still love meat in my diet. It’s just that now I’m drinking my veggies I’m less of a carnivor! I still enjoy my steak and chicken cordon bleu once in a while.

Here I would like to share bits and pieces of what I’ve learnt. If it’s any use, especially if you believe in phytonutrients to make you better, do try.

Note:
The juices are meant to be consumed daily so you can alternate the recipes from the following. These are for one person’s consumption but if you’re making for two or three you can double the amount. Make sure that you buy organic vege and fruits but if you can’t get some, then wash and peel everything throroughly to get rid of pesticide or chemicals on the skin. If you can’t get all the items stated in the recipe, just blend whatever you have (I did!). Also check your blender machine. The best is the 2/3 horsepower VitaMix range but a normal 300-800 Watt blender will do, but you need to process longer so everything will be pureed and smooth. The ingredients mentioned to be added after blend must be followed as instructed to ensure the nutrients not compromised (meaning dont dump them all and blend together.) Juice is best served fresh and you can keep them in the fridge but not longer than a day.

RECIPES:
1. GENERAL WELL-BEING JUICE
1 tomato
1 carrot
1/2 beetroot
3 asparagus
1/2 celery
3 stalks of spinach/ 1/2 purple cabbage
2 stalks of coriander leaves
2 stalks of parsley
3 slices of ginger
a bit of rosemary/lemongrass
a bit of basil leaves
1 kiwi fruit
10 grapes (with seed)
1/2 cup of blueberries
1/2 cup of dried seaweed (kombu)
1/2 teaspoon of powdered turmeric/ 3 slices of turmeric
1/2 teaspoon of powdered cumin
1 teaspoon of flaxseed
2 teaspoon of black sesame
5 blackpepper seed
2 cups of water

*Chop and blend all the above together. After blend add 1 teaspoon of organic lecithin powder.

2. ENERGY JUICE
1 tomato
1/2 carrot
1/2 beetroot
1/2 celery
1/2 cup of corn
3 stalks of coriander leaves
3 slices of ginger
1 kiwi fruit
2 slices of pineapple
1/2 teaspoon of powdered turmeric/ 3 thin slices of turmeric
1/2 teaspoon of powdered cumin
1 tablespoon of flaxseed
1 1/2 tablespoon of black sesame
5 black pepper seed

*Chop and blend all the above together. After blend add 1 teaspoon of organic lecithin powder and 2 teaspoon of bee pollen.

family first!

qahina — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:20:34 +0000

There were a couple of important birthdays in my life soon to celebrate – one is my Mom’s this Friday and another is my eldest daughter early next Feb. So I took the occasion to shop for both today and look what I’ve got them;
A gold and pearl stud earrings for my daughter…

simple and elegant!

Plus a custom-made personalised name-plate necklace which she was super-excited about because it’s her first ever. We will only get it 3 weeks later, and by then she’ll be back again for her cousin’s engagement party and it’ll be ready for use. At first I wanted to give her a watch but thought better and gave her jewellery instead. What woman would resist jewellery you tell me right? LOL
My daughter was soooo delighted by the surprise she belanja me coffee and cake at Delicious after the whole shopping.
Then it’s time to get my own Mom something. I’m not very good at buying gifts but I know when it comes to women, you can never go wrong with handbags, accessories or clothes. My brother has showered her with a handbag last December from his bonus so I thought I get her some blouses instead from Ms Read.
Thank God my Mom doesn’t read my blog so don’t spoil her birthday surprise yet yeah? Shhhhh…
What’s more surprising is my eldest decided to buy her sis lil’ Aisyah her first dollhouse! Even I don’t buy her toys much – Aisyah is super lucky to get big sisters who love her! LOL

happy baby

Lil’ Aisyah is overjoyed at her new toy. Nowadays I just buy her books and puzzles and once in a while her sisters will spoil her with toys so I guess it’s balanced.
Thank you God, for happy times in my family. I know if I’m patient and put others before me, His rewards are in store.

financial revelation for the new year

qahina — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:11:20 +0000

4 years ago, I cleared off 2 credit cards and that was THE most soul-cleansing effort I’ve made in my life. I could’ve fooled myself into thinking I need it during emergency, but I don’t travel that often nor do I shop that much. I’m still lucky that I don’t have a student loan but I do have a house loan debited from my payslip for the next 20 years. My number one issue with debt though; was my credit card spending. Guess I cared too much about having stuff like everyone else, and to be seen happy and having a good time every weekend hence the accumulation of bills. Now that the party is over, it was agonizing to not be able to swipe a credit card to my heart’s content but I’m super relieved that I dont need to que up at the cash deposit machine every month. It still tortures me having to save up for big ticket items but at least I’m not chased by payment datelines. I also begin to read a number of financial management books over the years but nobody touches me as well as Suzie Orman. Maybe because she’s female so she’s closer to the heart but I wish I have her sense everytime the paycheck rings in. Watch her short course below, or if you don’t have time, just scroll further for what I have summed up as my own pledge for financial freedom this year.
http://www.oprah.com/common/omplayer_embed.html?article_id=35425

America’s Money Class with Suze Orman - Money Secrets Revealed – FULL EPISODE

Tomorrow henceforward, I pledge to:
1. Live below my means and within my means
2. Take greater pleasure in savings than spending
3. Recognize who I am, not what I have.
4. Discuss with my husband or if I’m not completely secure with him, my Mom, how I’m going to spend my monthly paycheck
5. Dont buy any clothes for next 6 months (this is DEFINITELY the hardest because I LOVE clothes)
6. Get a debit card with limited funds
7. And whenever I want to spend, think about my daughter’s future tuition fees!
* I want to fulfil all, although it’s going to be very tough (especially Point 6!). But Capricornians are born driven. So wish me luck!

wishing you a wonderful new year!

qahina — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 09:58:57 +0000

Hi. It’s been a long long time since my last update and since I am a master of many hats in real life, blogging is pushed to a very far corner of my universe. Nonetheless I should usher in 2012 with a new blogging spirit, right? Yeaaahhhh…..

It is 22 days since January launched, so I’m 3 weeks delayed from the supposed new year post. But I would like to wish everyone a fabulous new year, especially with today being a Chinese New Year itself. Today’s blog entry is actually a fortunate occassion.

To my dear blogger friends; Ms Escape, Beatrice, Peng Peng and many kind others unmentioned here- Gong Xi Fa Cai. To the rest of my readers, have a wonderful break from work. I feel like adding this video recorded today as Mr Husband bought some birds to be released which I learnt later is a very auspicious custom to bring luck for the new year.

What have I been up to? Besides work and household stuff, lil’ Aisyah kept me busy. Aisyah has turned 2 last October and growing ever more cheeky these days.

She’s having a bit of a speech delay as compared to her peers but that’s because she’s been at home with the nanny most of the time. I took her out to a music play group every Saturday for 45 mins and we arranged get-togethers with my colleagues who have similar-age children. And we talk and sing to her a lot, so she’s picking up a mouthful of words here and there. I’m not too worried yet because I’ve read this is common but am doing whatever is best to get her speech to develop. If you have similar problem checkout Speechtails, a good site that gives you ideas on what to to with your baby. Its not free, but they give a 3 day free trial offer so it’s a good start.

Apart from that I wish to toilet train her soon but as long as she’s unable to tell me if she feels a poop coming it’s quite difficult to do so. However I can’t wait to get her off diapers! LOL Baby’s bum is the cutest thing on earth don’t you think so? Yeah yeah… I get mushy easily over my baby.

The Chinese New Year break is also a great family time. I get to have all my girls with me which is quite rare since my eldest is working overseas. Oh by the way, we found this fabulous Iranian restaurant at Publika Solaris KL called House of Kebab. The food and ambience is wonderful and they even have live belly dance show every Friday and weekend at 9pm. Well, it was my first time there last night but the impression was great. Now I prefer this place for a fine Persian food treat. Do visit and share your views.

taken from its facebook page

Hope to keep you guys posted often. Thanks for dropping by!

a small Raya gathering at my garden

qahina — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 14:48:09 +0000

I invited my daughter’s friends for a small Raya tea at my house and made some beef macaroni apart from typical lemang, ketupat and rendang spread. Fatin has many foreign friends and I wasn’t sure what to serve them. I’m completely familiar with what to cook for our locals – the usual nasi tomato or beriyani is often a hit. But when it comes to entertaining foreigners, my experience taught me to cut down on the spice and chillies. Therefore, pasta in any sauce is often my best bet.

my daughters, Fatin and lil' Aisyah

my lil angel is in the garden!

I was quite fixated with my set up and recently bought some portable furniture for entertaining outdoors. Was thinking of accumulating more chairs to accommodate the huge number of family from both sides (is 30-40 big?) because whenever everyone comes for birthdays, Eid etc we often need to cater for dining sets and buffet table which costs a lot. Last Raya alone, the tables and chairs rental service wanted to charge almost double because we rang them up last minute. Mr Hubby paid because we need them, but that triggered the ambitious streak in me to accumulate more portable tables and chairs, those you can stack and store and get them out anytime you feel like throwing a party.

lovely girls

the kids were goofing about.

yes yes the hostess yang lebih lebih! hehhe

It was a nice small party indeed. The youngsters really enjoyed themselves and of course, my karaoke set was attacked after! LOL Seriously, that karaoke set was really a blessing because it adds fun to an otherwise a typical makan-makan, then balik! hehhe
My lil’ Aisyah was also having a ball among her admirers. Si kenit tu punya seronok sampai all the kakak kakak and abang abang stayed longer than tea time!

Alhamdulillah. Next week Mr Hubby invited some of his good friends pulak for makan. The kuli in me screamed -aiyohh…. LOL

for love, and light….

qahina — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:35:15 +0000

I saw an Oprah’s talkshow rerun yesterday with an episode featuring Tom Shadyac, a film maker of The Nutty Professor, Bruce Almighty, Liar Liar etc who documented his discovery to the question; What’s wrong with this world? and what can we do to make it better? It’s his own journey to self discovery after he hit the ceiling of an A-list lifestyle i.e private jets, mansions, and celebrity status and yet consumed by emptiness. He realised the more he has, the more lonely and disconnected he becomes hence he gave it all up and discovered a more meaningful way of existence. Tom Shadyac opted to just live by what he needs and that makes all the difference. What really striked me from watching his revelation is how nature only takes what it needs, contrary to how we humans are. The tree only take what it needs from the soil it’s been rooted, a lion only preyed on one gazelle in spite of hundreds in the herd, the elephant only drink in what it needs and leave the rest of water for others.Looking at how obsessed we are with appearance today, we acquire so much of what we don’t even use just to step up to the standards of living as expected. It’s like cancer cells; we keep accumulating and probing into each other it’s almost like a disease. We cloned after anyone who has more than us; more cars, more clothes and shoes to wear, more money. In the end, we come home to such empty feelings. What do we gain from looking better than the person at the next table? Nothing much, apart from empty compliments which may not come in as genuine. While it’s great to look superfluous, it’s even greater to stop shopping and look around for what is more important. RM50 can definitely feed a whole family for a week, and we spend it on a pair of shoes that will only last for a month at max. As I wrote this, I am guilty as charged! My ego feeds on my next acquisition, and somehow, after watching the documentary, I do intend to stop shopping for a while until I’ve worn out what I have in my closet.

I shared this with my daughter and explored her views. We had a bit of a laugh when she joked that she won’t be satisfied until she has it all. It made complete sense though, because had Mr Shadyac been living in the slums all his life, he would probably jump at the thought of selling drugs for a pair of Nike shoes! Not to say that those who are in the slums has no morale, but highest level of conciousness can only be attain once you have fulfill all your basic needs. I’m sure God chose who He wants to be enlightened and who stays in the dark. I’m glad that I don’t shun off the thought of a simple lifestyle but I still want a bit more comfort in my life. Can? *wink

Another thing that enlightened me from the show are effort and cooperation. You know how frustrated one feels when you’re out there in a team and everybody is leeching on your effort, or you’re the only one in the family that gets up at 6am and slaved in the kitchen to make a great breakfast and noone bothered to say thank you let alone clean the dishes after they ate? Yes, the only thing that bind us together apart from love is the effort to cooperate with each other. And when you don’t get it, you feel abused and unappreciated. When someone makes an effort to be nice, just reciprocate and cooperate. Compassion alone is useless untill it becomes a verb. Extending effort in keeping relationships, in cooperating with loved ones instead of being consumed by “everyone-owes-me” mentality is one in a billion these days.The other day, my friend Nissa who I have not seen since 15 called to say hello after she got my phone number from some friend. I was pleasantly surprised and a little ashamed that I didnt make an effort to keep in touch with many people in my past including her. I have not forgotten Nissa, but I thought after almost 20 years apart, nobody really cares how the other have grown. We were crying from each end of the line and promised to see each other by end of the year. Also, recently another friend, Audrey visited me from Sabah. She happened to be in KL with her kids and since it’s Raya, why not visit Qahina my old friend right? We weren’t very close before, but we’ve backpacked across Italy together and shared some of the best and wildest times of our life. And now, after 2 kids she still made an effort to come down from Papar where she had settled down and visit her friends in KL. To me that’s an amazing feat in trying to keep friendship alive. it’s just a phone call and an hour’s drive to reach each other (just like what my friend Lin Sun did when we got news of a friend’s wedding). Friendship should transcend outside facebook and twitter but how many people are genuine enough to be nice outside their realm? It doesn’t kill you to be a little sentimental about your own parent or your best friends. At least someone out there feels your effort.

At the end of our life, noone remembers us by how much we have. If one is lucky, people will recall your deed in bridging friends and families together. If not, you’ll probably die alone, worst, rot in some flat where the neighbours would only bother to look for when the stench of your body becomes overbearing. I pray to God I end well, overlooking my loved ones hugging each other and remembering my love.
*pray*