BFL ... Here We Come :D

I missed my day in shedding some Excess Pounds (Wow not Sterling Pounds LOL!) by strolling and window-shopping in Harrods and many designer shops like Burberry, Jaeger and Karen Millen in Knightsbridge apart from stopping by in all the branded good stores like Gucci, Salvator Ferragamo, Prada, and Louis Vuitton in Sloane Street. I'm missing the brisk walking along Oxford Streets while stopping by for new stocks and look outs in preparation for Summer or Winter Sales in Russell & Bromley and the mega mall Selfridges that housed designers' collection. From there, I used to walk towards the Oldest World Top Boutique i.e. Liberty in Regent Street which is famous for its top designer labels like Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo!

I also missed the Outlet Shopping Centres @BicesterVillage in Oxfordshire and ClarksVillage in Somerset where they house luxury fashion shops, homeware boutique and discounted designer stores!   Not only the Outlets offer more than 100 stores, but they also have restaurants and cafes to entertain the whole family. These Outlets were value for money to shoppers where they obtained branded and designer goods with high street price! Within London, the BigLabel-SmallPrice  could be found in TKMaxx@Kensington High Street or Charing Cross and Hammersmith. Indeed, why pay more in 'Big Malls' when we could get the same branded goods at a reduced price in TKMaxx!

I never thought in Oman we could get some of the branded goods with an outstanding deals? Yet, indeed we did @Brand For Less :) which opened its first store in MAB Mall. Just to name a few of the designer goods there include Coach, DKNY, Calvin Klein, Jessica Simpson, French Connection and Guess. BFL is actually an official franchise of the German brand Tchibo. Their mission when they established it was "to add interest in buying things that makes people happy, with brand that help them look good, feel good and get more out of life." Truly, I'm feeling good when shopped @BFL mainly for the quality goods that I want and at the price which I want! As Penny Fray discovered in How to Become a Bargainista: "You don't have to sacrifice style to make clever cutbacks in Muscat." And of course to shop intelligently since we all know frugality is paramount. Especially if we could get up to 80 percent discount of its original price for our favourite brands, Yes! Go for it!

Frugality is paramount! BFL makes us happy with Big Brands but only a Fraction  of its Original Price :D

-25 Degrees!

Are you ready to go into a cold room with -25 Degrees C?

Indeed, we were the spirited sporting ladies from ALC Muscat during our memorable visit to Al Madina Logistic Services (AMLS) in Barkha. A few of us braved ourselves in the cold room that stored frozen foodies for half an hour although most of the ladies preferred to just glimpse through and out in no time :D

The visit to the biggest cold storage in Oman which run 3PL or Third Party Logistic concept was made possible by Sarala whose better half Mr Sanjivee is the GM @AMLS. Our request to have a tour of the cold storage as part of our ALC activities 2013 received positive responds and thumbs up from AMLS Top Management. Truthfully, we were honoured by the very warm hospitality showered by the warm hearted GM and his ever smiling staff Fatma as well as Weedat from HR Office and other staff in her departments.

We were then ushered into the Board Meeting Room where the ever enthusiastic Mr Zaki was already waiting for us to give his briefing about the tour. But on the table big breakfast was waiting patiently for us to gulp them all! But, we refrained ourselves from doing so and waited for the Chief Operating Officer Mr Kemp to give us some insights about the Company which was established "to spearhead the task of leading the Logistic and Supply Chain Sector in Oman." Mr Kemp happily continued to brief us that AMLS offered services which include freight forwarding, transportation, warehousing, open yard /container yard and Professional Logistic Consultancy.  

Once done with the valuable briefings, Q&A and safety procedures to be followed at all times, all of us were given a guided tour to the Cold Room. Some of us were fully prepared for the tour with warm clothing,  jackets, shawls and gloves. During our tour into the cold warehouse, I was amazed with the paperless system the Company has adopted which was truly awesome to apply in this century that could save money, save space, keep information more secured and more often than not it also boasts incentives and productivity. We were informed that all transactions were made via computers that use special software for their purposes between them and their clients. So there's no hassle of phone calls or paper documentations needed. 

Also what amazed me was the beautiful layout of the trusted plant which was very stringent in their quality control particularly they are trusted in handling perishable goods and frozen foods of their clients! It is one of their prime tasks to ensure zero risk of food contamination, food spoilage, and food-borne illness. The marked of expiry dates are paramount and all are done professionally and digitally stored in the computers. Hence, it is not surprising that AMLS with the state of the art and flagship facilities and services offered to all, currently ranked among the largest of its kind in the Sultanate. And, so far they have set up a wonderful network of major warehousing and planned many distribution centers all across the key cities in Oman. 

As far as ALC members is concerned, we are truly fortunate to be accepted to tour the sophisticated Cold Storage. The knowledge shared with us by AMLS Top Management and Staff about food handling was not only awesome but exceptionally valuable and beneficial to all ladies, housewives and mothers. Especially when handling meat or poultry,  the colour of these products are paramount. According to USDA, "change in colour alone does not mean the product is spoiled. But, with spoilage there can be a change in colour, very often it is seen fading or darkening!" Moreover when the meat or poultry colour changed, they will give bad smell or having an off adore, sometimes sticky or tacky to the touch, or it may be slimy. If both meat and poultry have developed these characteristics, it is advisable not to use it anymore or it will be detrimental to our health! A top notch tip from the experts which we are truthfully thankful :)

In sum, our heartiest Thank You and Warm Appreciation to AMLS for welcoming and accepting us. Also for the wonderful souvenir for my 'mugging collections' and lovely hospitality which we received from kind-hearted personnel :)- We enjoyed the -25 Degree Cold Room in AMLS! We may not be able to return the favour, but we believe Insyallah the Almighty Allah SWT will grace and return all the good deeds and valuable knowledge which you had shared with us! Amin.

Big TQ: A meaningful souvenir for my 'Mugging Collections' from ALMS :D

Love Thy Neighbours ...

Who is nearest to us apart from immediate families? I believe they are our neighbours > persons who live next to us. If we are in pain who do we turn to? If our wife is in labour whom do will call for help? Of course the most logical answers would be to call for doctors and go to the hospital. Also to call our Moms :( but unfortunately they lived far away from us. Worst still if we do not have the means and panic attacks for immediate help  during that emergency, then the nearest persons for us to run to and knock the door at the middle of the night would be our neighbour! 

Therefore, in our 'unwritten vocabulary' we have the term Love Thy Neighbour! I strongly believe with this solidarity for if our neighbour is happy, we will live peacefully; and if our neighbour needs help, we must be the first person to offer our hands! In my language we have a saying 'Malang tak Berbau' which among others mean 'disaster cannot be sniffed out' or we can't smell danger or we don't know when mishap will befall us. So, if any of these things happen to any of our us or to our neighbours, the most logical and appropriate gestures were to render help and offer our assistance the best we could extend to them.

A small deed but with sincere hearts and feelings from us during this trying time will mean a lot to the recipient. If one could not offer assistance in kind, just a shoulder to lean for her grieve will suffice to someone in need. But, if we have the means to contribute more such as in monetary terms that will surely ease the burden suffered by our neighbours. And this can be done in many ways including donation drive through passing of hats or by organizing a charity bazaar where the proceeds from sales could be channeled to the needy and victims of the mishaps suffered by our neighbours. 

The truth, that was exactly what we deed in Muscat among the ASEAN Community by organizing a half day ALC Charity Bazaar @MGM when we heard and knew that our neighbour the Philippines had suffered a tragedy due to strong and deadly typhoon Haiyan that affected its people. The ever caring ladies from six ASEAN (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand) countries in the Sultanate of Oman had joined hands to sell foods at their stalls in the foyer of MGM that attracted many generous people from all walks of life to do their part by buying the foodies and in returned whatever amount they gave were channeled to the charity! I also  observed some beautiful hearted samaritans just gave their donations without wanting anything in return in the name of worthy cause which was awesome, really sweet and heart warming. My prayers go to those compassionate hearts for their generosity and well being. Amin.

Here, kuddos to the management of MGM who allowed the usage of the foyer for free also in the name of charity. Credit goes to all the ASEAN embassies, their ever helpful willing staff and Ladies Wings such as Perwakilan Muscat and others that gave full support for this charitable event. And to our beloved neighbor the Philippines and the affected Filipino friends, our hearts are all for you. We did these good deeds also for you for we love you. As human beings, our knowledge are limited. We do not know, for only Allah SWT knows what will happen to us today, tomorrow or the future. My dear neighbour, anything can happen to us. We already know that today is your day, but perhaps tomorrow will be our day!?! So, here we are - all very happy to join hands to assist in the name of good cause in whatever way we can to ease some of your burdens. My Neighbour, My Friend - When you cry, we too cry; but when we smile, we want you to smile, too. May our ASEAN solidarity and true neighbourly spirit and love well intact within us :)

One for the album: ALC Patrons after the handing  of the proceeds from the bazaar with Ms Joyce, Charge de Affairs of the Philippines Embassy @MGM

We did our part in 'A Caring and Sharing Community' ALC Charity Bazaar for victims for typhoon Haiyan @MGM: A pose of the Malaysian ALC representatives after their tireless good deed with HE Ambassador Dato' Rustam Yahaya :)

Love Thy Neighbours: In these brave warm hearted ladies flow the forever ASEAN solidarity spirits and rendering hearts for good charitable deeds to those in needs. Bravo ALC Muscat!

While Snuggling ...

It's only 4pm. Yet no sign of sunlight in the  sky and instead it's cloudy. Also the weather was rather dark outside. From the news, Oman weather forecast reminds people that if they do not have anything urgent whatsoever, it'll be better to stay indoors. If possible throughout the weekend from Thursday evening to Sunday it is advisable to refrain from going to the Wadis. Similar remarks came from the ROP messages!

To pass my time during this rainy day in 'winter season' while snuggling under the comfy of warm duvet, I watched a British movie based on Thomas Hardy's novel Tess of the D'Uberville which was published in 1891. It's about a beautiful young maiden named Tess who was born to a couple John and Joan Durbeyfield in Wessex. Her ambition to be a teacher vanished when her family persuaded her to work with a lady Mrs D'Uberville - so called 'noble' family whose husband Simon Stoke had purchased the baronial title and adopted the title although there's no relation whatsoever with the real but extinct D'Uberville! However, an innocent Tess who worked as the poultry keeper in the estate was raped by the baroness son Alec. With shamed she left the mansion and later gave birth to a son. But her happiness did not last when her sickly son Sorrow died. After that tragedy, Tess's already misery life turns from bad to worst ... :( However, she found solace with a minute glimpse of happiness with her husband Angel Clare just a day before her execution at Winchester Prison for murdering Alec. 

What I liked most about the movie was the place - Wessex which is located in South England. While watching the movie, the place and its surroundings brought notable memories and nostalgic feelings to me to one autumn season two and half years ago. Mr Right and I drove down from London in our Black Cat and visited several counties in Wessex including Plymouth and Exeter before  exploring the heart of Devon. Both places are known for their beauty and picturesque countryside. Plymouth is known as a city for family holidays and had the scene of Sir Francis Drake's lagendary game of bowls! Whereas Exeter is known for its exciting mix of culture, history and heritage especially "with its 2000 year history blends smoothly with the contemporary and modern sides of the city."

But I fell in love at first sight to Devon which is bounded by Cornwall to the west, Somerset to the northeast and Dorset to the east. The landscape in Devon consists of "rolling hills dotted with small towns" such as Dartmouth and Salcombe. Driving through this wilderness in a sporty and an opened roof top Blackie was truly an unforgettable experience. I was amazed with the stunning scenery and in particular the rugged beauty of Dartmouth which had inspired a British author Authur Conan Doyle to write the famous story The Hound of the Baskervilles. At the same time, I was mesmerized with her red sandstone cliffs, beautiful  beaches and sea views which were all breathtaking! In fact, our memorable trip to Devon had open my eyes to a county of contrast. It offered the   best of countryside, coastline, ancient ruins and the shopping centres of the new world. Also with its glorious grounds and the constrast beauty of Exmoor, it is not surprising to see Devon as homes to many stunning stately houses which I could only dream off :D

The movie adapted from Hardy's novel which brought nostalgic memories to me down memory lane around Wessex  and the Heart of Devon. Picture Copyright of Google Image @fanpop.com

Golfie' Enthusiasts :D

It was on a cool Thursday morning when busy bee Moms decided for a change to try their hands on swinging the new golf clubs @Golf Academy in Muscat Hills instead of stirring their well used but faithful and musically worn out ladles into the pots and pans in their well kept kitchens! Two days before the event took place Mrs R went to HomeCentre looking for proper attire for the golfing day! She chose subtle purple outfit to the chagrin of Mr Right who thought she'll pick her favorite shocking pink (@^@). But her justification was that she'll no longer a sweet young thing but a little sober yet still sweet Mama. LOL!

Anyway, when the day finally came Mrs R was well geared up in her purple rain with her sport shoes and Porsche cap. Also a single glove for her left hand which she bought in London years ago, just in case she needed to use it @Golf Clinic! It'll surely come handy ;) Indeed, when she looked at the glove - 'old in age but new in appearance' suddenly brought nostalgic feelings to her. It reminds her of the fun time together with her friends (DS, Ton, Chah and Rush Rush) in London. There, they received advice and coaching instructions from a very young pro Mr Bobby! Well, that was five years ago! The only time she went for golf clinic in Hendon although she used to be tagged along by Mr Right for some hitting of golf balls at the driving range. 

Here, Mrs R tried her hands at golf again. This time with her enthusiastic friends (Nia, Sofee, Rin, Rose and Hanna) @Muscat Hills and Country Golf! They were freely coached by two young British  professionals Jade and Dave. It was a fruitful morning where they not only sweated out but most of all they learnt some of the golf language such as 18 holes, Hole-in-One, Par 3, Par 4, Par 5, Boogie, OB, tee-off, teeing, putting, fairway and strokes. Then the equipments such as driver, wood, iron, sand-wedge, pitching and putter. Wallah! That's not easy to remember. Perhaps I still prefer to memories Donoghue v Stevenson or Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Balls, which were a lot easier :D

After all the briefings, all of us were called  to try our hands with the gadgets and started with hitting the balls aka 'tee-off' with all our hearts! Since we were beginners Jade our coach advised us to use iron 7 instead of drivers  or woods. We were taught how to hold our gadgets the proper way and took special attention to our postures. Also to make sure of our right hands are properly positioned over the left hands while handling the clubs. Out in the green or fairway, the nearest pole was 100 yards yet out of thirty balls which I hit, I personally don't think that any of mine had ever reach that far Hu Hu Hu! The furthest was maybe 50-70 (I hope to believe :D)!

But the golf lessons which I like most were putting and 'around the world' taught by Dave! Putting was not easy but was truly fun where among others we learnt to be a very patience person. The golf language was "Rolled it, Controlled it, Holed it!" During these lessons I also met and befriended new friends Rasha and Sofia. Dave, our coach made us compete with each other to see who could score better! On putting, with dead aim of putter-face out of eight holes, I managed to score 6/8 during practice time, but dropped to 4/8 during the actual competition. Yeah, I was feeling good and definitely not too bad for a first timer!!!! My other two friends were doing okay, too. 

All in all, we truly had fun time while sweating out our excess fats :D Yet, there's a down side of golfing to me personally since I wasn't in favour to be under the hot sun which made my skin eadily tan and dry. Thus, the golf enthusiast in me did not last long :(( 

Doing my best @Golf Clinic :))

But the heat and 'pearly sweat' all over my face made me think hundred times to join the Academy (@^@)!!!

One for the album: Yours truly with friends and Brit's Coach Jade

I can't Live without You!

What would I do without You! Surely I'll be restless. My mind will suffer grave hunger for foods for thought. In no time my brain will be rusty and eventually die of slow death ... And, I wouldn't allow that to happen. At all cost, I'll make sure you'll always be with me and within my reach. Rain or Shine, you'll always be by my side :D

Why? It's all because I love You > My Reading Materials! I need you like I need air. You're 'oxygen' for my brain. I read any write up more or less from any material that was in front of me. But, most of the time my reading materials are books, magazines and newspapers. Nowadays, I also go for digital reading via my iPad and iPhone. It was really breeze to browse and read whatever I want through them. My gratitude to 'sonny' and Mr Right for these precious and priceless gadgets.

Indeed, I can't live without you, My Reading Materials! And, what did I read? I read anything from pages to pages, but above all, I love to read inspiring stories jotted down and shared by columnists from both local and foreign newspapers. Thus far, I loved to read Karim Raslan's Ceritalah and June Wong So Aunty, So What from The Star. Also, Trivial Travails by Mahesh Verma in Muscat Daily. 

To my delight, I recently discovered inspiring articles written by Online Columnists Davina Goh in her Gratitudist and Elizabeth Tai in Reading Revolution. Both writers gave me different perspective of seeing things which were great and mind provoking! One soared my turmoil mind to be contented with easy and frugal thinking and living while the others trained my not so digital savvy brain for latest and updated technological know how towards reading materials :)

In sum, I truly enjoyed and always immersed myself hours and hours flipping through pages and pages of the reading materials while at other times, my hands were kept busy sliding the screens of my mobile and tablet for latest updates! These are my true friends who shared with me their thoughts without waiting for me to agree or agree to disagree :D

The Food 4 Thought which I cannot Live without!!! Reading them kept me away from feeling restless and stressful life. TQ Reading Materials :D

Vibrant Colours!

When we are far away from home sweet home, we try our very best to celebrate all the festivals - be it Eids, Christmas or Chinese New Year with our multi racial friends together and feel as if we're all @home! And, today is of no exception when the beauties came and ignited RumahMalaysia in their vibrant colours for the Festival of Light  Celebration! We celebrated this day with a few friends from other countries to show case our unity as one nation that is rich with diversified cultures and unique traditions!

Me with my Vibrant Colours' Friends for the Bright & Bold Festival!

Not only these beauties are cheerful spouses and lovingly responsible moms but they are well talented in their own fields and passions who are ever willing to share with me many things about their traditions and cultures. Among others, in their customs they decorated their homes with a folk art from India known as rangoli. This creative art which is sometimes called kolum used colored rice in their designs.

Another aspect that caught my attention was their captivating traditional dresses namely the ever vibrant coloured and beautifully designed saree and of course the intricately two pieces eye catching attire shalwar kameez! So far when I saw ladies in their sarees at receptions, I was always amazed and wondered how did they wear them? Indeed, this morning I had the opportunity to find out how they wore these six to nine yards materials. Well, it wasn't easy at all. It involves lots of skill and know how and most of all patience! The sarees are worn over a petticoat called lehenga and also a small blouse called choli. Indeed, this intricate attire signifies the grace of my Indian friends which adequately displaying the beauty of all the wearer!

Others came in their shalwar kameez. The shalwar are loose pajama like trousers where the legs are wide at the top and narrowed at the ankle. On the other hand, the kameez are long tunic worn over the shalwar. This attire is sometimes referred to as Punjabi Suit which is much simpler to wear as compared to the Saree. Most women prefer these since the attire flatters practically any body-type persons :D

But festivals without the display or spread of foodies won't be joyful occasions! So, we were truly fortunate since our wonderful Indian friends prepared lots and lots of main foods and desserts for us. Among others were putu mayam or string hoppers which can be eaten with fresh grated coconut and jaggery or as savory dish to be taken with sothi namely a mild yellow coconut curry.  But, surely one cannot missed the crispy prata with butter chicken as well as the fragrance rice with hot and spicy   chicken curry, dalcha, dhall and popodum! Woosh ... In a second there goes my diet! LOL :D

All in all, I truly enjoyed the Festival of Light Celebration with my friends. I treasure their friendship for "the language of friendship is not words, but meanings. It is an intelligence above language" as said by Henry David Thoreau. Thus, in our true friendship spirit and camaraderie, I was happy that the whole event was fun and fruitful that reflected on all our faces with the Vibrant Colours' theme! 

Something to Savour for Years to Come: The Fun and Full of Memories Saree-Tying competition!