No maid no gaining weight

I finally got a chance to weigh myself in the clinic today when I took my son to see a Pediatrician. I can't believe my eyes. I have lost 6kg in 2 months! I can feel that I am slimming down so much. I feel lighter and much more confidence in wearing my sexy cloths... :)

Thanks to the absence of a maid in my house. I am forced to do the housework and take care my children all by myself. I have learned to multitask, manage my time, and to work fast. I also have learned to skip my napping time and reduce my sleeping time at night. The stress of moving house and adapting to the new life in the new place also took part in reducing my weight.

Although I always cook good and nutritious food for the family, I don't have a lot of time to enjoy the food I cook because after cooking, I have to worry about feeding my children, preparing for my husband, then cleaning up the mess afterward. So, usually, I will have my meal together with the children while feeding them. So, whatever food they eat, I will eat a little bit part of it.
Though I only eat a little bit, I don't feel hungry because I don't have time to feel hungry... :)
This also contributes to my weight lost.

Another thing that contributes to my weight lost is the fact that now I live in a double storey house (for the past 10 years, I lived in a small apartment)... :)
Everyday, I have to go up and down the staircase while carrying my daughter who weighs 8.5kg for many times a day.
I just can't leave her alone upstairs or downstairs because she can climb up the staircase already. But she still doesn't know how to climb down. So, I have to constantly monitor her especially when I need to go up and down the staircase because if she sees or hears me going up to the second floor, she will quickly crawl up.
I first found out about this when I was upstairs with my son to get a book very quickly. I thought leaving her downstairs in a room would be safer because I would only be gone for less than a minute. But then, I was very shock, my heart nearly stopped pumping, to see her climbing up the staircase already half way up. I didn't know that she could open the door as well. Apparently the door wasn't closed properly.

Since I'm the only person that has to run around the house the whole day, I have lost my time to relax and munch as well...;) So, even though my husband bought me a 2kg chocolate ice cream and a long bar of chocolate in the fridge, I don't have time to even touch them! Many times I wish I could just do the swish and flick of my wand then the housework is completed... :)

No maid, really no gaining weight for me or I should say, no maid, no time to gain weight for me... :D

But...
The bad news (for my weight lost program) is...
A new maid is coming to my house tomorrow!!
Here we go again... my battle of loosing weight! I hope I won't gain another 6kg in a month... :D

About life in here and in Malaysia

It's nearly 11pm in my place. The internet has just been installed and I can go online now whenever I have time.

Usually at this hour when there was no internet yet, I would just fold the clean cloths and iron some until around midnight before I ended my very long day. Since I moved in to the new place, I have become an early bird. I wake up every morning at 5.30am. I was never an early bird before but in here, I have no choice because at 5.30am, the sun shines so brightly already since it rises at 5am. My bedroom has no thick curtain yet. So, my daughter will wake me up with her big smile exactly at 5.30am every morning.

Oh I miss waking up late. In Ipoh, at 7am it's still very dark. That is just one of many things I miss about my life in Ipoh, Malaysia.

I miss having a plate of char kuey tiao or a bowl of seafood noodle soup as my breakfast at the Greentown corner. It's cheap but very tasty and spicy. It would only cost me 4.5Ringgit per plate.
Here in my new place, I have to eat breakfast at home. To eat out, it will cost me at least 8ringgit per plate.

I also miss eating my duck egg crabs at Unique Seafood in Tambun.
Here in my new place, I haven't tried to eat seafood yet because I'm a bit scared of the total price I have to pay after enjoying my seafood.

Food is not the only thing more expensive here in my new place. Every thing else is also very expensive such as cost of making a phone call, especially to Indonesia. To call to Indonesia from Philippines using a PLDT phone card, it costs me 8ringgit for 5 minutes talk time while in Malaysia, I can use iTalk phone card which will cost me 30ringgit for 1.5 hour talk time!

My husband is fretting a lot about the price of gasoline because in Malaysia, the price of gasoline is a lot cheaper than in here.

Before I moved here, my husband has informed me that the living cost in The Philippines is a lot more expensive than in Malaysia. In addition, there is VAT of 12% to be paid for anything I purchase. So, now, we really have to tone down our lifestyle drastically.

But of course there are things in here that are cheaper than in Malaysia, such as fresh fruits. I'm just very happy that now I can eat grapes as much as my stomach can take because Crimson seedless grapes are very cheap. My children love the grapes too.

The cost of getting a maid is also a lot lower than in Malaysia. The price of cars is also lower than in Malaysia because there is no Proton and Perodua in here. The toll fee is also cheaper but the road is not as smooth as in Malaysia highways.

The most important thing is that we have to be able to adjust our spending habit and our lifestyle according to the place we live. There is no perfect place on Earth if you are not welcome to the changes and differences. We have to embrace the new life here and try our best to adapt with the situation as soon as possible. With God's help, every thing is possible.

Time for me to go to bed. I only have 5 hours to sleep. Tomorrow is Philippines Independence day so it's a 3 day weekend for my husband. For me, it's always the same day every day... :)

Story from the new place

Finally we are here in the new place after 1 week delay and many hiccups before we left Ipoh. It's coming to my 3rd week staying in my new place. My children and I are adjusting very well with the surrounding. Thanks to our 1st trip last January to this place. You can read the story here. The only thing hard to adjust is the fact that the sun rises at 5am here and there is no time difference with Ipoh, Malaysia. We get used to waking up late because in Ipoh, 7am is still very dark.

About the house: We rent a double storey house with a garden. Everyday, I have to go up & down many times while carrying my 9 months old daughter. It's really hard work to make sure that the children do not fall down the staircase. For my son, he has fun going up and down and run around the garden. This is the 1st time for my children to touch the ground and have interaction with many creepy crawlies that occupy our garden. As for me, the garden is the worst thing about the new place because I hate those living things in the garden, especially the creepy crawlies. Up to now, I haven't touched the garden yet. When we arrived 3 weeks ago, the grass is so tall. Luckily, I have a temporary driver who is willing to clean up the garden for me.

In the new place, we still do not have phone, internet connection & television. So the only way to entertain the children is to take them to the playground nearby or to internet cafe. Oh, I still do not have a maid yet... :) It's a blessing in disguise though because I am loosing my weight faster than going to the gym! My hubby has promised to get me a maid. It's quite cheap compared to in Malaysia. I can get 2 maids here with the same salary for 1 maid in Malaysia but I just want 1 maid mainly to help me to take care of the garden. More maids, more headache...:)

About the food: I have to cook everyday especially for my daughter. She doesn't eat instant food. My son loves the local food. Last time, it was always a constant battle to make him eat, but this time, I just take him to Razon's and he will sure eat the food there. By the way, Razon's sells good and cheap local food such as beef tapa (it's called tapsilog there), grilled fish (it's called bangus meal on the menu), and their specialty: halo halo dessert.
I eat out quite often too because our house is near food junction in which has so many good & famous restaurants.

So far my review about local food: best beef tapa @Razon. Best Bulalo soup @Leslie. Best grilled bangus @Razon. Best halo halo ice dessert @Max. Best green mango shake @Leslie. Best place to get fresh & cheap tropical fruits is along the road to Tagaytay. Come to Philippines & visit me!I'll take u to those best places to eat best local food!!

About the weather: When we arrived, for the 1st week, it was very hot and humid. We can't switch off the air cond and were forced to buy an air cooler.
Since last Monday, it has been raining and very windy. In fact, we experienced a typhoon 2 days ago. My driver is my news informer and weatherman... :)

I will need to have a driver until I am familiar with the roads and the left side driving. I drove on the left side before so I hope I can adjust quickly this time. We all need to learn the Tagalog as well so we can speak like the locals.

I end this post here before my daughter wakes up. Besides, I need to go to the CR (comfort room - this is how people here call toilet/restroom)...;) Hopefully I will be able to post more story when I have the maid and internet connection.