Goodbye Smallville

I know this is late considering the TV Series had its final episode last May 2011. But hubby and I just finished watching the final episode last weekend.

Hubby was laughing at me because even before the start of the final episode I was already crying. I am such a cry baby. LOL!

The last episode is everything I want it to be. I am not saying I wanted it to end but in my opinion, they couldn't have made a better ending to one of my much loved TV series.

I am planning to watch the whole series again. But I am not sure I could watch the very early episodes. I just don't like Lana Lang. Of all the characters in the series, she's my least favorite.

Speaking of favorites, mine are Clark and Lois, of course. And Chloe and Oliver.

Tom and Erica are such cuties! I love them.

I am wishing there's some sort of spin-off after this series. Or even a movie. C'mon Tom! Please do a Superman movie. Hehehe.

I will be watching you again and again Smallville.

up, down plank by Kelly Rowland

Last weekend, I gave myself a treat. I bought a January issue of Health and Fitness magazine with Kelly Rowland on the cover and a new cookbook which was on sale.

I am so happy with my purchase. It turns out, one of Kelly Rowland's workout is now my favorite abs exercise.

I am too lazy to scan the magazine so I swiped this picture from Health and Fitness website.

Here is up, down plank. It's doing wonders to my abs. Seriously.

Up, down plank
Reps: 60 seconds
Sets: 3
This move is great for your shoulders, arms and abdominals. Keep your core engaged the entire time and squeeze your glutes to tone your bum.
• Start in plank position with your hands under your shoulders and your feet hip-width apart.
• Lower your right forearm on the floor with your hands flat down in a fist. Follow with your left forearm, lowering it to the floor.
• Pause in a forearm plank for a few seconds, then push through your forearms, placing your right palm flat down on the floor, and raise your body back to the starting position, one arm at a time.
• Engage your core as you return to the starting position and repeat, but this time lowering down with your left forearm.

The first time I tried this, my arms were shaking halfway through the routine. Today, I was able to finish the set without much shaking of the hands. LOL! And just like I said, it really works the abs.

Try it!

to inspire

Last week, hubby and I celebrated our wedding anniversary. We've been married for six years now. When everything is perfect, you don't notice the time. That's how it is with hubby and I. Of course, we do have hiccups along the way but I believe they're normal and serve as a spice to our marriage.

Anyways, I wore a tube dress I got at a bargain from Mango.

Me in a tube dress? I did not think I would be able to wear something like this. But thanks to my smart healthy eating habits and exercises, I have been able to wear this size small (US) dress.

Did your eyebrows raise after that statement? Well, that was my bragging rights. LOL! Seriously, if I could encourage or help motivate just one person by my posts here, I will be very happy. I am not posting these pictures of me because I am a narcissist (okay, a little maybe. LOL!) I just want to show proof of my hard work and like I said to encourage someone out there.

Anyways, for our anniversary I gifted hubby with d'addario strings for his guitar. I thought he would appreciate it. And he did. He's now playing his guitar again almost everyday.

What did he give me? Nothing! LOL! Just kidding. He gave me something I really really want and need at the same time. Priceless! Thank you so much Hon for everything. You're the perfect husband and bestfriend a girl could have.

P.S. I did not wear spanx under that dress =)

directing my energies into these things

We're already in the middle of Australian Open 2012! But I can't believe I haven't watched a single game! Not even of Novak Djokovic!

I don't know. I am not really agog over tennis lately. I have so much on my mind. It's like I am racing against something unknown. LOL!

Kidding aside, I am so focused lately with some of my projects this year.

One is the on-going weight loss. Well, actually it's not so much more about weight loss now because I am just 0.3kg from my goal. Today I weighed in the morning and the scale read 55.3kg. I am concerned now about toning my abs. I can see results already but I want to see a concrete one. Tomorrow I will post another one of my favorite abs exercise.

Second thing I am focused with is my blogging. I want to earn a decent income from now on. I have been blogging for five years now and I am just earning a tiny fraction of the blogging money from the blogosphere. So my goal this year is to find out what where the money is and how to direct it to my blogs. LOL!

Another thing which takes most of my time is advertising my brother's condo unit which are for rent and our own as well. My diligence (or is it luck) paid off because all our units are currently occupied. I am hoping my diligence (or luck again) will be extended to my brother's unit.

So there, I have three reasons I am not watching Australian Open 2012. But rest assured, I will be in front of our TV when Djokovic is on the finals! Wooohoooo!!! LOL!

my healthy lunch

I've read somewhere that it takes at least a month to form a habit.

Since I have decided to go the healthy way over four months ago, it's become a habit already to prepare healthy meals.

Here's what I had for lunch yesterday.

wholewheat spaghetti with sardines and vegetables (eggplant, tomato and green bell pepper)

Honestly, this was really filling and tasty too. I added dried chili for some kick and it was good!

I usually have fruit snacks at mid afternoon but I was not hungry until dinner time.

I love making pasta lately because it's so easy to prepare and I can just toss in any veggies I like. I actually like to put some greens like spinach or even petchay. Sounds weird but it tastes good and I feel healthy too.

What's your favorite healthy dish?

give in to your cravings once in a while

I wish I could say that my will power is strong. In as much as I would like to eat all healthy food, I sometimes also crave for the sinful kind.

Last week, my craving for Oishi was really so intense. I had no choice but to give in. LOL!

But before you throw the first stone and castigate me, I ate only a few pieces.

I think it is important to give in to our desires or cravings once in a while. Because if you don't, it will all build up and the next thing you know, you'd be eating one whole pack or even worse two packs of chips. I know, because it happened to me before.

I realized that by giving in once in a while, it's actually doing me some good. I don't feel deprived so when I have a few pieces or a few chips I feel satisfied already.

So if you feel like having a cake or an ice cream, have it! Have it guiltlessly. But don't eat one whole round of cake or one whole gallon of ice cream. There's such thing as having too much.

Done and on to the next

I am glad I have finally finished editing some of the gadgets at home which we haven't used for a while or those which we have rarely used.

I have sold one of our iPad2 last weekend at the expat yahoo group here in Cambodia. The minute it was published I already got two inquiries and before midday I already sold it.

We bought our iPad2 32gb wifi+3g last August for seven hundred twenty nine dollars. But since we did not use it as much (we had three iPad2), I decided to sell it. I lost almost two hundred dollars in the process but I did not think of it that way.

If I did not sell the iPad2 right away, I would have lost more because of depreciation and the usual tear and wear.

I also sold my old canon ixus 100. It was hubby's gift to me three Christmases ago. I used it a lot in the beginning. But since hubby gifted me with the iPhone4 two Christmases ago, I haven't used the camera often. I used the iPhone instead for everyday pictures.

I still haven't sold our old PSP. I am hoping I'd be able to sell it soon. Plus the
vanilla dutches that hubby has been keeping away from me, which I found out anyway. LOL!

After the gadgets, I think I need to edit our furnitures at home and my bags which hubby has temporarily convinced me to just keep in the mean time.

I feel so good that I have done something about this. My goal this year is to have less material things and more money in the bank in the bank.