Tucking In Those Fats

I am not talking about liposuction but corsets and girdles.

I know, majority would say (and had said) I don't need a corset or girdle. I am not considered fat or even chubby but I do have fats that needs tucking in especially if I am wearing a fitting dress.

My body has been through quite a bit.
Here's one of my pictures I posted when I wrote about weight issues and getting healthy.

[http://zzanyy.blogspot.sg/2012/07/losing-weight-part-2-update.html]

2006: Drug addict (mid 40kg)
2010: Verging to overweight (65kg)
2012: Weight slowly stabilizing (61kg)

From 2012 to now, my weight yoyo from 56kg to 59kg and guess what, I STILL kept the same top after 10 years! hahaha Time for an update?

I would consider myself as average built but generally people always think corsets are for chubby/ plus sized ladies. Here's the definition of a corset:



To shape the figure.
Corsets also support the back so if you tend to slouch a lot like me, a corset helps with posture and slouching on a wedding day is always a no-no. No matter what people say, if you have a chance, wouldn't you want to improve yourself whether it's mentally or physically?

You think I can achieve this without a corset? HAH! lol

Sneak peak of my photo shoot outfit, a red 60's Cheongsam.
Look at that cinched waist and posture.

Corsets generally are expensive but I was lucky enough to get one at Bugis Junction, BHG, at the Sorella lingerie section. I've surveyed plenty of corsets by then and I was advised to get a waist corset (excluding bra) instead of with the bra attached because every women's hip-waist-breast ratio is always different.

I was so lucky lah because they had a 3 for 1 promotion. I got 2 bras, 1 waist corset and 1 girdle.
Not including the extra bra, I got my complete corset/girdle/bra set for just SG$139. That's cheap considering some 1-piece corsets costs over SG$150. The lady in-charge was so nice too which made me felt comfortable. Comfortable enough to ask her to join in my dressing room with the corsets. She was respectable and it's not that she saw EVERYTHING lah.

I was considering on should I post my corset set but you all go shopping malls or shops nearby also see lingerie what? No big deal right? And then I realized it's MY lingerie so... abort! Abort!

My bra was a simple nude bra and my corset and girdle comes in a set. If you already own a nude bra, no need to buy lah. Obviously, I don't, especially with a removable bra strap one. The reason I chose such design is because some outfits I choose may expose my shoulders (under lace). For those who will be wearing modest outfit, you can go for those corsets that has a straps like these.

I didn't realized until I brought it home that the corset has Bamboo Charcoal & Liquefied Titanium. It is anti-odour, anti-static, anti-bacterial and is breathable. Other than that, it does all the 'magic' a corset and girdle does. It tucks in my fats, tighten and slims my body by a lot. Although it straightens up my posture, I still can move around and bend over a little. It's impossible to slouch and believe me, I tried.

While looking for Jhon's 'capal' at Geylang, I happen to see plenty of corsets and girdles too at the  Geylang Serai market at an even lower price but I am not sure in terms of quality because I've never bought them there before.

Whether you want/need to wear a corset and/or girdle, it's up to you. Only you know what is best for yourself. As you can see, girdle works wonders for me in terms of improving body shape and posture. What is important is you do you!


   

Wedding Shoes Bought.

We had roughly planned to buy most of our stuff on December for the Christmas sale but you know, when you see something that beckons, you just need to get it.

Jhon and I were at Tampines on a date and were heading home. We happened to pass the shop Pretty Fit at Century Square and Jhon saw it first; a pair of bling-bling heels. He pulled me in and I saw it too. He asked me to try it and that was that. haha

You see, I am a picky person. It's really hard for me to like something especially when it comes to outfits. I can appreciate fashion and all but if I don't 'feel' it or the item does not fit/ flatter me even a single bit. It's a no. So for me to say YES in 1 second. That was a record.

When I wore it, it flatters my ugly-stepsister-like feet, it was comfortable, the heel height was not ridiculous, the bling-bling were round so it won't catch and ruin any dress AND it's affordable! Most bling-bling shoes I see always cost $100 and above.

So what it's not a branded item. I never cared for it anyways. My only concern on that day was if the bling-bling will fall off because it would be kept for 6 months. But I was consoled that it won't lah.

As for Jhon's leather shoes, after our trip to Johor to book our wedding cards, we went to Golden Landmark for toilet break and we happened to see a shop that sold leather shoes among other things. I didn't take note of the shop's name but there were shoes that we liked but didn't bring our wedding cash along to buy any.

It's only weeks later because we've been busy/ lazy/ surveying other shops, we went back and long story short, Jhon got his shoes too! Cost wise, there's not much difference with other shops or brands. The problem that we had been having while surveying for shows was that we dislike the new trend of pointy shoes. Jhon wears a shoe size 11 and with that extra pointy end, it looks funny on him.

I am so glad we found a pair of leather shoes that are a good mixture of modern and traditional.
I am not sure if I am going to get another pair of heels since that's the norm for Brides changing their shoes to match their other outfits but my shoes can pretty much match anything.

As for Jhon, he just needs a 'capal' to pair with his 'baju melayu'. I am pretty sure we can get them those anytime at Geylang because it's easy accessible and simple.

   

Versari Ade Bridal Outfit Choosing & Fitting

The main reason of this appointment was to select and have our outfits fitted for our studio/ outdoor photo shoot but the date is quite close to our supposedly outfit choosing for our wedding day so we were advised to do everything in one day.

Our appointment was yesterday at 11am and was greeted by the sweet Kak Ida. Just within a minute of us settling down, Abg Hadi 'pun datang'. It's nice to see a boss so hands on.  ☺



Just for our photo shoot alone, we had to choose 4 outfits and 3 outfits on our wedding day. VA had a system where we can only try maximum 3 outfits per category to be time efficient. After all, after our appointment, there's another couple who were coming at 3pm.

Kak Ida was very accommodating and patient with me although I didn't think I was fussy during the appointment. We didn't try 3 outfits all the time, sometimes we just tried 2 and there's one type we tried only once.

So during our photo shoot, we will be wearing

❣ Green/Gold Traditional Songket
❣ Red 60s Cheongsam & Suit
❣ Traditional Royal Javanese
❣ White Laced Western dress & Suit

We figured we will never have the opportunity to wear them so we went all out. hehe

For our wedding day, we will be wearing,

❣ White/ Silver Malay Modern Outfit
❣ Purple Modern Songket
❣ Western lace dress with Jhon's own Barong



I am not sure for other bridal shops but if you are going to try out their outfits, I suggest wearing nice bra and panties. lol I am not saying must wear lacy Victoria Secret ones; just not the 'bacin' ones. hahaha It is because the person helping you might or will go in the dressing room to help you with the outfits. For my case, Kak Ida was in the dressing room from beginning to end.

If you are also going for a fitting, I strongly suggest you to wear your corset and/or girdle so it will fit as realistically as possible on your photo shoot/ wedding day. If you have no intentions to wear a corset and/or girdle, then disregard what I've just wrote. ☺

This is optional but wearing a loose dress for the fitting is helpful because I just have to take off with one swoop instead of dealing with 2 articles of clothing. There are a few times I have to wear back and choose my outfits and take it off again.

What I also think was helpful was having my hair in a bun. I don't have to worry with my hair as I get in and out of dresses. Plus, during the actual day, my hair will be up most of the time anyways. One more thing, hygiene and more importantly, use deodorant if you know your body craves for it. It's only fair to the person helping you in the dressing room and also respect for their clothes.

It took us almost 4 hours of me trying maybe 20 outfits just to choose 7. (Jhon only had to try the ones paired to the final chosen outfit). Abg Hadi would handle Jhon if there's a need for altering while Kak Ida and another seamstress helped with mine. Since Abg Hadi was there, multi-tasking with his sewing and sequin-ing, he also gave some input and advice which we appreciated.

We are pretty satisfied with what we chose but hours after the appointment, I was starting to feel the wedding anxiety. I think choosing those outfits really made it 'real'.

***

Check out our pre-wedding photo shoot behind the scenes.

   

Fresh Christmas with Panasonic (with recipes)

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Okay, okay, I don't celebrate Christmas but food is food, right? Who says we have to wait for a certain occasion to eat certain food? hehe Anyways, I was humbled to be invited to a cooking demo by Panasonic.

I was ecstatic that I could bring a plus 1. No prizes on guessing correctly who I brought. It's an interactive demo where we were encouraged to take part but of course, like a true blue awkward coward, I did the 'action looking somewhere else'. haha Here I thought I would do that only in school. *grins*

Our cooking demonstrator was Mdm Theresa, a cheerful lady who was obviously skilled in cooking and baking with Panasonic cookware. Never in my life I felt like someone who was living under a rock when I found out microwaves not only comes with a built in convection oven but also a steamer (more on that later)


Me during the workshop.

With copies of Panasonic's recipes in our hands, Mdm Theresa showed us how to bake the ever delicious Cinnamon Bun using a bread maker. I am no stranger to bread makers although I never owned one and it's pretty cool and easy since you can mix AND bake the dough with 1 appliance. Horray for less work in dish washing! The bread maker is not limited to just a variety bread but also dumpling skin dough and cakes. The specific bread maker we used (info attached to recipe) comes with a yeast and raisins & nuts dispenser. Macam washing machine with fabric softener dispenser. haha

[click to enlarge]

The Cinnamon Buns were delicious although personally, I would put more cinnamon sugar for that diabetic sugary kick. The fresh bananas were a delight as it adds the velvety factor in the warm soft bun.

Every dish that was cooked obviously took time so we would come back to each dish whenever it needed tended to. After placing the ingredients into the bread maker, we were shown how to make the Black Pepper Roasted Chicken with Stuffing. We had to keep going to and fro throughout the session with the chicken especially with constant honey glazing. Do you know that the oven that was used does not have a turn-table? No more days of mindless staring into the rotating food in the microwave (which I'm pretty sure it's inadvisable lol) but with no turn table, it means there's room for at least 45% more storage.

[click to enlarge]

Unfortunately, this is one of the dishes Jhon and I couldn't try since it was stuffed with pork but just by looking and smelling the roasted chicken as it was cooking, I can pretty much imagine how delicious it would be. The meat looked perfectly tender and juicy.

Next, was Steamed Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache, a recipe inspired by blogger Diana Gale from DomesticGoddessWannabe. With my outdated brain, I figured, use a steamer to steam lah right? One of Panasonic's microwave can also steam lah... Horray for less appliance to deal with! There's a compartment drawer underneath where you can store water that could last for 30 minutes.

[click to enlarge]

I liked it that we don't have to double boil over a stove because we can melt the necessary ingredients all in the microwave oven. By this time, Jhon and I had agreed to get the ECONAVI Inverter Steam Oven when we get our own house. I think the only down side is I can't mass produce my Hari Raya 'kueh' for my family like I always do every year, something I can do with my big oven at home.

Anyways, although rum can be removed in the recipe, it was used during the demo. I am tempted to try this recipe but just with a good ol' steamer. After putting in the cake in the microwave oven, we proceeded to cooking Glutinous Rice. I've never eaten glutinous rice as a fried rice besides as a dessert or the Malay traditional 'pulut kuning' so seeing the end result was appetizing. Unfortunately, Chinese (pork) sausage was part of the recipe so again, we can't tell you how it tastes like. But hey, we can always try the recipe but substitute the sausage.

[click to enlarge]

Like I mentioned before, we couldn't try the glutinous rice but it looks goood...

Main dishes done, desserts done and all was left was a salad side dish so Mdm Theresa taught us how to make our very own Sesame Salad dressing. I am never been a fan of sesame dressing or even desserts unless they are the ones on a burger but the dressing was actually quite nice and tangy. With that said, it might be overwhelming for some because I was over it after a few mouth fulls.

The salad dressing was paired with Panasonic's own grown salad! Since 2014, the Agricultural Business Unit of Panasonic Factory Solutions Asia Pacific (Panasonic) is cultivating premium Japanese vegetables via a controlled soil-based environment with LED lighting. The facility is the first in Singapore to obtain an indoor farming license from the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) and grows a wide range of premium Japanese crop varieties that are pesticide-free and compliant with stringent food safety standards.

Panasonic is doing urban farming and selling salads?


lol

Panasonic has a vision and it's to be the World No.1 role model in sustainable urban farming with environmental protection; benefit the community by promoting healthy eating lifestyle; and create opportunities for future farming technology.

Pretty cool huh?
Here are the main produce cultivated by Panasonic.

Now you can get your hands on your own bowl of Veggie Life which comes in a range of three nutrient-dense salad mixes: Antioxidant Mix, Nourish Mix and Vibrant Mix, each with their own special nutrients. They are packed fresh and pre-washed which means it's always ready to eat!

After the workshop and taste testing the food cooked, we were given goodie bags. Nope, no Panasonic appliances like Jhon had hoped. haha Just a few pamphlets, brochures, 1 travel sized cutlery and 1 bowl of Veggie Life's Vibrant Mix packed with Zinc & Magnesium for growth and absorption & retention of calcium.

Each Veggie Life bowls comes with their own fork and salad dressing which I appreciate. When Jhon and I do picnics, I would make my own salad. With this, I don't have to worry about pre-preparing our salads! Just grab and go. I might be biased because I love my salads but the Veggie Mix was satisfying. The roasted sesame was light and at the right amount just to coat every leaf. I have always hated low dressing to salad ratio. 

And guess what my Muslim readers, Halal lah... You see the ever wonderful symbol that we always search for on the dressing packet? hehe Oh! And if refrigerated, the salad can last up to 7 days so you can stock up a week of salads at 1 go.

Grab and try yourself Panasonic's Veggie Life at supermarkets near you.

There was also another salad dressing recipe but it was not made that day; Oriental Salad Dressing. There you go, bonus recipe. hehe 

If any of you tried any of the recipe, tell me, tell me!

   

Berkat Booked!

Wait, Berkat Booked or Berkat Ordered?

So many years ago, I've wrote 2 blogs about favorable berkat and breaking my head over berkat. You can click respectively but basically, in the first post, I wrote about all the berkat galore I considered and the second was about how I had trouble with budget versus something pretty.

Berkat was the only thing Jhon and I kept going back and forth with. We wanted real budget like eggs or something but at the same time, we want to give our guests something memorable and nice lah. We kept coming back to glassware (not mugs) or crystal bowls.

So you know those affordable provision shops that sells household stuff like pails, bottles, party stuff, pots, plastic table cloths and such? They also sell kitchenware and that includes glassware. When we drop by to buy paper cups (water for the feral cats), I would always glance by the glass shelves. Actually, there are 1 or 2 decent looking glasses with decent prices that could be considered as berkat. They tend to be simpler but some shops have designs on it.

It was until I found out about Chia Heng Department Store from Abg Awil's (BIL) aunt.
Epilogue: Kakak brought home some awesome crystal plate and I asked her to ask for the source.
When we finally checked out the place at Joo Chiat Complex (besides the other wedding related stored inside), we just went ooh and aah...

These are just some of the crystals.

But the price... we were not so keen with but come on... it's crystal. What do we expect right? 

There are $1 mini crystal cups and such but what would a family do with such a small cup? Do they do 'ibu kunyit' shot drinks like us? lol 

Four months later, we brought Mak along to see the potential berkat in person as requested. Not surprisingly, being Mak, she aimed at something that costs 50 cents more. I don't deny the bowl she preferred looks pretty but budget bursting sey! I spent a good 5-10 minutes whispering to Jhon about the budget when Mak said the magic words.

"Mak bayarkan, lah!"/ "Mak will pay for it"

With a speed of lightning, Jhon agreed and for all I knew, he had passed the bowl in question to Mak. It turns out he REALLY likes the bowl but budget was stopping him. Of course, I had to halt everyone and eventually we agreed to her paying half of it.

All crystals come with a black box with string (box bag) so no need buy a separate bag. 

I will show and share our chosen berkat with box in due time when we receive it 1 month before our wedding and also share any experiences of receiving the goods.

And sorry, no guessing! The bowl is not in the picture anyways. hehe

   

The ROMM Interview

Read my post when we registered our ROMM online as that was the first step of getting solemnized.

So after registering online, you can visit ROMM at Fort Canning any day during their service hours but latest 5 weeks before wedding. Jhon and I decided to go ASAP (2+ weeks after registering) because his CENOMAR (certificate of no marriage) must not be more than 3 months before date of issue and it's dated October 2015. Plus, no harm getting the procedure over and done with.

Document Verification & Statutory Declaration (VD/SD) Service Hours
Monday - Thursday:  
8.30am to 11.30am & 2.00pm to 3.30pm
 Friday: 
8.30am to 11.00am & 2.30pm to 3.30pm

There were quite of a number of documents you need to bring and it varies for each couple. You may check out the entire list on ROMM's website.

For our case, we brought:
✔ NIRC/Passport of Bride, Groom and Wali
✔ My dad who is the Wali
 ✔ Jhon's Muslim conversion card
✔ Letter from Philippines to confirm Jhon's Marital status
✔ Marriage Preparation Course certificate
✔ My awesome brother who drove us there hehe




Although technically, it's just a walk-in appointment of document verification and declaration, for the longest time, the Malay community has called it "The Interview". Jeng jeng jeng.. Indeed, in the past, it was a scary procedure because I was told the Tok Kadi in-charge will 'test' you especially in your knowledge in religion. Some said they had to recite specific doa (not the standard Al Fatihah, hokay?) and was asked hard questions.

But now, it's not as nerve-wrecking lah.

ROM & ROMM shares a same building so when we arrived at about 10am, there was a good amount of people in there, inclusive of families who were getting solemnized there. I almost went to the reception counter for a queue number but I was approached by someone in-charge and he helped us getting our queue number using a kiosk nearby. He simply asked for my NIRC. He was confused for a while when he saw my NIRC and had to double check that I was actually Malay and that I am applying in ROMM not ROM. hehe He said he has to make sure because there are Malays who opt for ROM not ROMM.



The procedure comes in 2 separate parts.

Document Verification (VD)

In the first 30 minutes (incl. waiting time), Jhon and I had to go to a counter behind a glass wall to pass our & my dad's ID and necessary documents. We had to double check our info, inclusive of solemnization date & time, Tok Kadi, Hantaran, Mahar, etc. Jhon had an option to insert his Muslim name as an alias on our wedding certificate so we just put lah.

We were inform there will be charges incurred if we made changes to our solemnization details and it has to be done online. After signing, we had to wait again for the second part of the procedure.
.
Statutory Declaration (SD)

We had to wait again for our queue number to be called but this time, we had to proceed to 1 of the rooms. My dad had to enter first with the necessary documents filed by the VD counter. He was simply asked if he is birth my father, if he agrees with my marriage with Jhon and if there are any problems and such. He was told to sign and take an oath.

Dad then called for me as it's my turn pulak. Memang kanciong lah but Kadi (Deputy Registrar) Mohamed Khair Bin Rahmat was friendly. He confirmed my identity and who I intended to marry. He checked with me if I had checked with MOM since I am marrying a foreigner and asked if we had attended marriage preparation classes. He asked what I had learned, etc. He also asked briefly if I had ever went religious classes even as a kid. It was all quite casual. Nothing so stressful. In just a few minutes, I signed and took my oath.

Lastly, it was Jhon's turn. He was asked basic questions of what he has learned from Islam and gave him a few advice to keep on learning and from the right sources. His part seems to be the fastest among the 3 of us. He too signed and took his oath.

Inclusive of waiting time, SD took us 40 minutes so the entire process took us slightly over an hour. By the time we ended, the crowd had grew. So yes, coming earlier is always better.

That's it! Dah register, dah declare, dah angkat sumpah.
Dah boleh kahwin! haha

   

FIFA Grassroots Workshop & Festival 2015

A while back, my 2 nephews, Shibly and Syihab joined the FIFA Grassroots Workshop & Festival 2015 organised by FAS Cubs. They don't actually love soccer but just love to kick a ball. haha Since it's something they could do during holidays (for free), their dad, my bro let them attend.

Since I'm not working, I was tasked to take them to and fro Jalan Besar Stadium on weekdays. Too bad Irfan didn't participate because he is the one who really loves soccer.

[Source: FAS Cubs FB]

On Sunday, we went there as a family, Bro, SIL, the boys, Mak, Jhon and myself. Looking at the younger kids in their over sized vests are always so cute. Being 8 years old, Shibly was rather independent and being a good boy as always listening to the coach.

Syihab was hilarious. He had trouble dribbling and basically every aspect of soccer skills needed. But what he lacked in skills, he made up by being adorable. By day 1, almost every coach knows his name

On the way for early dinner after soccer practice.

Bro's friends and their kids who also had participated.
 

On Monday, with the help Mak, we sent the kids for their session. Most of the time, everyone was playing mini-games among their own group.

Tuesday was when the storm arrived. It had rained so heavily even up to 2.15pm and since we had to take cab, we knew it would be hard to even catch one. In the end, we decided not to go which led me some regret.

The festival was on a Wednesday but I couldn't send the boys because I had other prior commitments so Kak Yana had to take leave.

 [Source: FAS Cubs FB]

[Source: FAS Cubs FB]

Fortunately, bro came along too and had taken a video of their grand finale because it would complete my vlog! Too bad the video quality was not consistent but at least it's complete hehe.



By the end of the festival, I was told everyone had recognized Syihab and even the older girls were giggling and swooning over him. OMG.. Is that a good thing or bad thing?