Was getting busy the past couple of weeks with some church stuff (Natural Family Planning or NFP, Stations of the Cross, and the weekly RCIA sessions), wedding gown selections, and most importantly, exercising!!! Yah then after exercising I proceed to stuff myself with good food at Restaurant Week hurhur.

We are in the season of Lent and supposed to be like eating less meat and doing more good (almsgiving) and reflecting but ermmm I'm not really following that strictly.

This week it looks like I'm going to be spending a lot of time in church again attending penitential service (heard it is going to take HOURS! Bahhh), and a whole afternoon retreat on Sunday, and baptism rehearsal on Monday night...

Don't think I've mentioned it here yet but I finally chose my baptism name which means "noble maiden" or something along that line. Not that I'm very noble la, choosing it purely because
1) I picked 7 names and drew the final 3 contenders from a random "lucky draw"
2) Superficial reasons - it sounds not too bad
2) I polled 2 people (Saint and Empress) and both of them preferred Audrey to Sarah or Sophie LOL
So yup Audrey it is!

On a more sombre note.

This morning Singapore woke up to the sad news of Mr Lee Kuan Yew's passing. Given his frail condition, this wasn't entirely unexpected. Better that he doesn't suffer anymore and gets reunited with his beloved wife in heaven. I think all of us have a lot to learn from him and the steadfastness and love he has for his wife and how they work together as a team.

It's such a pity that he couldn't get to witness the 50th birthday of the country that he dedicated his entire life to and fought so hard for. :(

He was always a larger-than-life figure to me. Kinda like a very high up there, awe-inspiring, intimidating but respected figure. There is no denying the contributions he made and for that we really have to thank him. I complain a lot about horribly late buses and overcrowded trains but hey, I am gainfully employed, I will soon be the owner of a tiny house (thank you CPF) and I can return home at 2am alone and still be safe. I'm glad that I can speak and understand 2 languages (although a bit half-baked now) - so thank you Sir for having the foresight to insist on the bilingual policy.

Rest in peace Mr Lee.

Just to update that I've survived my 3-day juice cleanse! *exploding fireworks*

Although I did get more used to just drinking juice on Days 2 and 3, having to drink the same juices for 3 days was quite boring.

So the verdict? I don't think it's for weight loss (though my programme was named "Skinny Genes" and targeted at weight loss) but more for a thorough cleanse of your intestines. I don't think my intestines and systems have been so clean since the day I was born. Haha.

I didn't weigh myself before and after the detox but I did weigh myself on Day 2 and I was only about 500g-800g lighter than my usual weight. Bet I put it all back on already after eating normal solid food. :(

If I were to do this again, maybe I'll just opt for a one day cleanse. Haha! I don't like depriving myself of food. :D

I've chronicled more details of my juice cleanse on Dayre!

Embarking on a juice cleanse these 3 days because parents & little sis are away in HK and Paul is on a school trip to Cambodia, so I figured this would be the best time with least distractions (and no food at home)!

There are tons of juice cleanse programmes out there these days, all touting the benefits of cold-pressed juices... and honestly they are not cheap. A 3-day programme set me back by almost $300 including delivery! :O

Wanted to go with Hic'juice because of the pretty bottles (haha superficial) and their colourful juices (looks more appetizing) but they were so expensive ($300+ and that's not including delivery and GST)! Another point of consideration was that the glass bottles, while pretty, were also heavy. I didn't quite fancy lugging around 4-5 heavy glass bottles to work.

Decided to go with Beauty Cleanse in the end because it was cheaper and their juices seemed quite palatable. Plus they also provide supplements for you to take during the cleanse, which I opted for.

It's Day 1 today and I've finished about 2 bottles of juices. But I'm feeling hungry!!! Going to start on my 3rd bottle soon. Actually drinking the juices is not the tough part. The tough part was when the outgoing VP ordered pizza for the whole office and I had to give it a miss! Can see cannot eat! Wah! 痛苦!!! :( :( :( Had to sit there and lau nua while I watched my colleagues eat. Sigh!

Tomorrow the VP is going to order Casurina Curry for the KPs for lunch and I have to give it a miss again!!!! 为什么!!! *sob*

Alright will probably update more about the juice cleanse next time. Some people say they feel lighter and found that their appetite reduced, plus they actually crave healthy food after the cleanse. Me? I am attending my sister's food tasting at Sheraton on Friday, i,e. day after cleanse. FEAST TIME!!! Muahahahaha.

I mean, I have to eat a bit lighter and let my body get used to solid food and meat again... and not let the benefits of my detox go to waste. Maybe I'll just sample a bit of each dish!

Went for gown selection on Sunday and chose both the white and evening gowns for the actual day... I like the evening gown but the white one was just so-so, as in I don't hate it but I don't super love it also. They didn't have many choices to choose from either. Maybe I should have gone for made-to-measure but the problem was (back then) I didn't really know what styles I wanted for the gown. Oh well! Nvm what to do. I hope I can find nicer ones for the photoshoot!

Gonna start my fitness journey with Corinne to make sure I look fabulous in my gowns! And really also to lose all the weight I gained over the past 2 years, which is like an extra 5kg. Belly be gone! Flabby arms be gone! Thunder thighs be gone! I have done this before! (56kg --> 49kg) I can do this again!

Oh no I just walked to the pantry and like everything is screaming at me to eat them :( There's a box of opened chocolates lying on the table... the pineapple tarts... ROAR! Mind over matter, mind over matter!!! *sips on herbal tea*