Mission accomplished

2 days ago, I sent an sms to my beautician requesting that she slot me in today for a facial. I also mentioned to her that I have been having water retention problem and asked her whether she had any body treatment for this. She replied to say that the bookings were packed but as not everyone had confirmed their appointment, she would revert to me.

I was disappointed that she did not have a ready slot available for me but while I was hopeful of a positive confirmation, I decided that in the worst-case scenario, I would go to the office this morning to clear work.

Yesterday, my beautician sent me an sms to say that she would be able to give me a 10 am appointment for a facial and a body treatment (for my water retention problem). Glory be! I guess it was a sign that today would be "Pamper Pebbles Day".

This morning, Da and I happened to wake up early so we decided to have breakfast at the Haig Road hawker centre before he dropped me off at my office. Office, you say? Didn't I have a 10 am appointment for a facial? Be patient, my friend... you are light enough to be kept in suspense for another paragraph or two.

We had not eaten at Haig Road hawker centre for some time. Most of the stalls there tend to be open for business for lunch or dinner. When we arrived, there were some stalls in the Chinese food section but as Da's favourite porridge stall was closed again (we wonder whether it has closed down), we headed for the Malay / Indian section. I was thinking of eating nasi lemak when I spied at stall selling Masala Thosai. Yummy! My mind was made up. Masala Thosai it would be!

Da ordered the Masala Thosai for me and 2 plain Thosai for himself. We also ordered kopi tarik and teh tarik. No Malay / Indian meal would be complete without a tarik drink.

The Masala Thosai was rather interesting. The filling included cabbage and some other vegetables that are not commonly found in Masala Thosai filling. My favourite Masala Thosai so far is the one sold at Komala Villas but the one I had this morning comes a close second.

After breakfast, Da gave me a lift to my office before he proceed to work. Okay, okay... end of the suspense. I had bought some mooncakes and I wanted to place them on the desks of my secretaries as well as my enbloc team (I have a rather large team working with me for enbloc matters). They are tireless and I thank the Lord that I have such wonderful support from them. I am truly blessed.

Finally..... time for my facial. I arrived at my beauty salon punctually at 10 am as scheduled. I was informed that I would start with the body treatment (for my water retention) and end with a facial. The body treatment was very interesting. Firstly, a fragrant scrub was used to scrub my body. Without rinsing off the scrub, the salon girl then applied some gel on my thighs, tummy and arms. When her back was turned, I picked up the tub of gel and discovered that it was recommended for use in the sauna. Then, industrial cling-wrap was used to wrap around my thighs, tummy and arms before I was asked to step into a machine where I could sit down and every part of me was in the machine save for my head. Goodness me! It was something like a mini-steam room. I think that the intention was for me to perspire (thereby discharging the excess water in my body?). The temperature was slowly increased to about 48 degrees before the 20 minutes in the machine was up. I was asked to rest but it was almost impossible to rest while in the machine! I think I now know how crabs feel when they are boiled alive! Other than the heat, I was uncomfortable in the machine for primarily 2 reasons:-
(a) my knees were reacting to the cling-wrap and they became very itchy; and
(b) my legs were a little cramped in the machine and there was discomfort in my knees.

When the 20 minutes were up, I was asked to take a quick shower before the salon girl applied massage lotion over my thighs, tummy and arm. I actually fell asleep at this juncture. I only woke up when my beautician tapped my shoulder (by which time her assistant had already washed and scrubbed my face). I was happy to see her. My saviour when it comes to extraction of the pimples on my face! She reminded me that she owed me a 2nd treatment for the pigmentation spot on near my right cheek. Yes, I shall try to find time for the treatment (which only takes 15 to 20 minutes, actually).

After the facial, I detoured to Robinsons at City Hall (before meeting up with Da). I intended to "take a leaf from my own book" (in this case, my post on how to be more feminine) and I proceeded to the ladies' section where I successfully purchased a piece of lingerie that I had in mind to purchase. Ah... the benefits of target shopping.

Da and I had arranged to meet outside Ah Teng's bakery at Raffles Hotel. If you have never tried the pastries at Ah Teng's bakery, you should. Their gigantic-sized chicken pie is simply scrumptious!

Da and I had lunch at Chin Chin restaurant located along Purvis Street. Today, we decided to be adventurous and try the Hainanese mutton stew. It was very nice! The taste of the mutton was not overpowering. It was something like an Irish stew. This is something that we would try again! We also ordered the bittergourd omelette and the Hainanese mixed vegetables. The bittergourd omelette was delicious, as usual. The Hainanese mixed vegetables (which we tried for the first time) resembled the Nonya mixed vegetables (ie. "chap chye").

If you are wondering where all this is leading to, you guessed it correctly. The National Library! I borrowed several romance novels and left the library a very happy girl.

Dinner was our usual gathering at The 3 Musketeers' home. Tiki had used her AMC cookware to make 2 homemade pizzas, using SC's recipe that I posted on my blog last month. In addition, they had made 2 salads and also bought some mini-pastries from Tiong Bahru plaza. mmm... food galore!

The English Premier League season has started again! GLORY, GLORY, MAN UNITED! May the Red Devils triumph again this season!