Awesome July is coming up

I am so excited and making a happy dance. You wonder why? I tell you why: Awesome July is coming up and it will already kick off tomorrow. I do count the end of June as July because it is the end of the first term at uni and Awesome July sounds way better than Awesome End June and July, doesn't it? Anywhere, you were asking what is soooo awesome about July? 


Okay, I am going to tell you: Tomorrow, (in about nine and a half hours to be exact) I am going to fly to Tokyo for about 4 days, yes, the Tokyo in Japan, I am going to visit our dear friends who moved to Tokyo about 9 months ago. I can't wait to see Tokyo and the crazy fashion, eat sushi, drink sake and sing karaoke, and of course spend time with our great friends. 


After 4 days in a crazy city, I would say it is time for some relaxing time on the beach. Just a quick overnight stop in Singapore to pack some fresh clothes, and then the hubby and I will be off to Bali on next Wednesday. We will be also celebrating the beach wedding of a colleague and friend of mine over in Bali. 
Oh I love weddings, I love the beach and I love to see new places - perfect combination. Luckily I worked on my tan on Sentosa (small island of Singapore) last weekend.


Well then, mid of July, we will fly to Seoul for 4 days. The hubby has been raving about this city for months now, I couldn't take it any longer - I want to see Seoul. It is supposed to be a very modern city, the Korean Barbecue is supposed to be fantastic, soju (Korean spirit made from rice) and yes there is also karaoke. 


So now you know, this is why my July will be awesome. I will post about my adventures including photos.


Any tips from you???

After a detox week...

... I feel better. I feel healthier, have more energy, I am more conscious again on what I put in my mouth and yes, I feel lighter. But I don't do a detox for weight loss. It would be silly of me to think that a detox will lead to long term to weight loss. That's a myth.


So how did I go? Well, given that I am not working at the moment, also did not have uni last week and the hubby was out of town, it was actually pretty easy. I enjoyed the fruit salads, soups, salads, fresh juices. One night  But you know that feeling when you know you can't have it, you want it even more. That's how I felt on the 4th day about a piece of dark chocolate - but I stayed strong and had an orange instead. 


Well that was the food part of my detox but there was also the other part: the "colon hydro cleansing". Fancy name when you consider what it actually is involved. 
Half way through my first session, I was thinking: "Why the hell am I doing this?" And then I remembered all these articles I read and the benefits.


Colon hydro cleansing promise to effectively remove the toxic waste that is lodged in the wall of the colon. Some of the waste can be up to 10 to 15 years old. Colon hydro cleansing promise to make sure that the digestive system function optimally and auto intoxication is reduced. Colon hydro cleansing helps to reduce bloating, constipation, indigestions, skin problems and the list goes on. 


The first session was very awkward and exhausting and yes, very strange. I mean who likes to have a tube up the bum and watch his/her own poo coming out? Sorry to be so blunt but that's what happens. The staff at Hydro Health was really nice and made even funny jokes like "It will just feel like doing a good sh!t". 


I had in total 4 sessions last week and will go back when I am back from all the great trips I have coming up (I write about it tomorrow). They recommend to do session of 4 to 5 in a row to ensure that all the waste built up in the colon is gone and then have one session about 4 to 6 weeks for maintenance.


Do I feel a difference now? I definitely do not get so bloated the whole time, I feel lighter and my skin is better. I also feel good that I have done something for health. 
If you want to know more about colonic hydro cleansing, you read here and here.


Oh, and I did not have a coffee in almost 2 weeks now and don't miss it. I did have a couple of glasses of red wine on the weekend which I didn't enjoy and gave me a headach. Not sure whether it was a bad red wine or my body responding to some "bad". 

It is detox week!

After vowing to stay healthy while we are in Singapore, I have decided to take it a little bit further - yes,  it is time for a detox. 
With the hubby travelling again this week (this time to my home country), it is a good opportunity to do a detox over the next 5 days. My detox program means no sugar, salt, coffee, processed food or meat but lots of fruit, vegetables, herbal teas, water and fresh fish and Hot Yoga. 
There are other ways to detox, like excluding dairy, wheat and fish as well but I am not going to that far this time. 


Why detox? Well, let's put it this way: Over the last year or so, I probably drank too much alcohol (in particular the red vino), ate in way too many great restaurants, travelled a bit, drank a lot of coffee and experienced a lot of stress (moving house, job, planning a wedding, moving to a new country). And then, I read this article about colonic hydrotherapy (or also known as colon irrigation or for my German readers - Darmspuelung) and its benefits last week. So I thought, hell, yes, I am going to try this while I am doing my detox. Er, yes, you read correctly - colon irrigation. My hubby said politely the other day: "My wife is up for every sh!t". Um, sorry for that word.


So today was the first day of my detox and my first colonic hydrotherapy. Well, it was weird and quite exhausting. I promise I willbwrite more about it at the end of the week once I have finished my sessions so I can write more about the benefits I have experienced.


And now, I am going to make myself a fresh ginger and lemon tea and watch some soccer.

A visit at a new hair dresser - a woman's biggest fear

After good 8 weeks, I could not prolong the visit at the hair dresser any longer, as much as I wished I could. Last time I needed a trim and top up of colour, the hubby and I went conveniently for a short trip to Melbourne. But now, 8 weeks later, every morning, my re-growth reminded me that I desperately need to make an appointment. After reading on Facebook that one of my friends has now much shorter only because her usual hair dresser moved away, I was even more afraid. Don't think I am vain but my hair is holy. Last year when leading up to our wedding, I looked after it religiously and sort of kept the care routine. 


My hair dresser in Australia and I have built this trustworthy relationship (obviously if you spend 3 hours of your time every 6 weeks with her): she knows me, my hair and my style and I know that she won't bully me into trying something new. 
But what do you do in a different country where the majority of the population has a different hair colour and hair texture? Well, I jumped on the net and went through the expat forums to find a good recommendations. It seems like every Caucasian expat woman goes to Tony Guy. Hooray, Tony Guy is very popular in Australia so I was confident nothing would go wrong here. I made an appointment with Tony Guy and pre-warned the hubby that this is going to be an expensive visit.


So last Friday was the big day. With wobbling knees I got there right on time and desperate for a coffee. One of their many assistants ushered me into a super comfy chair, brought me tons of women magazine and coffee. 
Then my stylist who cut and blow dry my hair introduced herself - I explained in easy terms what I want. And of course, she tried to come up with a new hair cut, more layers, a fringe maybe. I had to tell her a few times "no", "no" and again "no" - leave it as it is. Well at that point I was super afraid and could not enjoy my coffee nor read one of the great glossy magazines in front of me. With my eagle eyes, I oversaw her cutting work. Lucky I did, otherwise my hair would probably be much shorter now.
Quick blow dry, then my colourist Ray arrived. It is still beyond me why the hair would be cut before it will be cut. Takes much longer with the double washing of hair, never mind, I enjoyed the free head massages. 
This nice colourist gave me a quick lecture on how my hair would be different here in Singapore than in Australia. Bla bla bla, I was about to ask if he has my hair, but kept quiet since he was in control my highlights and I didn't want him to stuff it up. I let him do his work and started to enjoy the glossy magazines. 


Almost 4 hours later (this is a record!), after having 2 awesome head massages and reading 7(!) magazines, I was done. What do I think? Well the cut is good, it is still long and the colour seems to be fine too BUT I think it is a little bit too blonde. I need to use much more bronzer to compensate the very blonde now. Lucky that I bought a great new bronzer just the other day. 
;-)


Sometimes I really envy guys, they can just walk into any hair dresser, it takes maximum 30 minutes and they are happy with what they get, or they even cut their own hair. The hubby went to a random hair dresser yesterday and looks great - took only 15 minutes.

By the way, I discovered that Glee's Mr Schuster Matthew Morrison has the most amazing abs. This is the photo of the June issue of the US Vogue which I read on Friday. OMG, who would have thought that Mr Schu is so hot underneath his nerdy cardi? I love Glee even more now. 

Back in the Blogging World and Sex and the City

After a week break from blogging, here am I, I am back. What was the reason for my absence? I caught some  sort of strange virus which knocked me out. Not sure where I caught it. Maybe in Kuching on Borneo where TD and I spent a weekend recently. So I spent around 5 days on the couch, watching day time pay TV (not so good - saw the final of American Idol like 4 times but learnt that the Denmark is the happiest country in the world) and feeling sorry for myself because I was alone and no one brought me chicken soup. 
Anyway, almost recovered, just battling this annoying cough which unfortunately means I can't really exercise, no gym, no running. For those who know me well, you can imagine how annoyed I am about it. I am trying to concentrate on yoga instead. 


My cold however did not stop me from watching new Sex and the City 2 movie. Last Friday I dragged myself from the couch to the closest cinema (on the way checked out the sale ;-)). I was a little bit worried that I wouldn't like it since I read mixed reviews about it BUT I really enjoyed the movie. (I hope I won't reveal too many spoilers now.)
The movie is very funny and colourful with lots of crazy and expensive outfits, head pieces and shoes. Carrie annoyed me a little bit but Samantha rocks in that movie. She is hilarious. I loved how she had these hot flushes from the menopause and that she did not want to obey the rules in Middle East and cover herself up. Also the movie confirmed that every woman should wear a bra (Britney Spears, for that reason, please watch that movie!)
I liked that the movie dealt with topics like "a married couple is losing the sparkle" or "being a mum is hard work". The ladies from SATC grew up and are mid forties now. They are not those mid thirties single ladies, hanging out in the bar and are on the hunt for the handsome and rich single guy anymore. So of course the movie is different than the series and tackles different topics now. 
Yes maybe there was no major plot, but honestly ladies, did each episode of the series had a plot? 
The movie is an enjoyable watch and I made me realise that the important thing is to age well - Sarah Jessica Parker does not age well. Just compare her to Kim Cattrall - that lady is turning 54 in August. 


What did you think of SATC? Did you enjoy it? Were you disappointed and why? 

The Challenge to stay healthy in Singapore

I would have never imagined that I would say this - It is hard to stay healthy in Singapore.Yes you read it correctly. Did you say "Hang on, Jasmin, isn't Asian food healthy? Aren't there all these hawker markets with the amazing offer of food?" 
Well, you may be right. BUT (yes the big but), only if you don't eat anything which is deep fried (which I don't because I don't like it), avoid the meats (generally it it fatty chicken, very fatty chicken) and have the tofu instead get an extra serve of veggies and less rice (half the plate is full with just plain rice) AND even then, do you know how much oil they used for the cooking and what else is in the food like MSG? Don't forget to add the local specialty, sweet iced lemon tea, probably with tons of sugar in it.


Eating out is definitely much easier for us here. It is cheaper (food in supermarkets is more expensive), more convenient, not to mention that our kitchen is not fully equipment to cook up a great meal. 
The big problem with eating out is, you never know what is actually in it. I read that a meal which has been cooked in restaurant has on average 40% more calories than if the same meal would have been cooked at home. 
Interesting, huh? 


Singapore currently promotes healthier eating. It says everyone should eat 2 serves of fruit and 2 serves of vegetables a day. In Australia, 2 serves of fruit and 5 (!) serves of vegetables are the goal. In the US, it is 5 serves of fruit or vegetables a day. After reading this, I was not surprised that I am struggling to eat enough veggies a day. Seriously, I miss my veggies, I even crave them. Funny enough, I also miss home cooked meals.


In light of the "30 days of health & well being" starting next week, I decided it is time to take control again. Why doing all these work outs and yoga if it is ruined every time I eat out? Time that I will cook more at home again or if TD is in town, he will cook. (Thanks honey!). 
Today I did a big shopping, spent a small fortune and I cooked myself a nice dinner. Salmon with broccoli and asparagus. Yes, it sounds a little bit boring, but it tasted great.  

Have we learnt anything from Sex and the City?

I am sure you are just as excited as I am about the release of the new Sex and the City 2 movie. If you haven't seen the trailer yet, just click here. 
This series has been a part of my life in my late teens, early twenties. Tuesday night was reserved for SATC. 


But there are people who don't like SATC as much as most of us do. Read this. Seriously this female writer really hates Carrie Bradshaw. I admit she does have a few valid points. But then again, it is just TV - not reality. Well, of course I want to be a successful writer living in East Village in NYC, I want to own thousands of expensive high heels, I want to have the confidence to pull off those Carrie Bradshaw outfits.
And here - apparently there is more we can blame on SATC. 


While I am sipping on my vodka & cranberry (surely this does count as a Cosmo?), I realised that I learnt a few things from SATC too:


1. It is the most important thing to have great friends.
2. Cosmopolitans are a great drink.
3. Even if you are thin, successful and confident you can get screwed over by men.
4. Don't get a chemical peeling like Samantha did.
5. Always apply sun screen and Q10 creme on my hands - I don't want to end up having hands like this.


I can't wait to put my heels on and go to the cinema with my cosmo next week.