Jovin's 1st birthday party

Last month, we were invited to Jovin's 1st birthday party at The Garden restaurant.  Jovin is Jovan's younger brother.  Jovan is Sarah's friend who used to live at the same apartment but moved to a landed house near the airport.  Since they moved, the moms have set up several dinner/playdates to keep the kids' friendship going.

Happy 1st birthday Jovin!

The mummy tissue game was fun.

Friends since they were 2 years old.

Kids' group photo after the games

Bowling time at Sunshine Square's Premium Lanes

Sunday late morning was spent at the bowling lanes at Sunshine Square's Level 5 where the Premium Lanes is located.  It was Sarah's first time and Reena's second time to bowl.   

Three games each cost us RM20 including the shoe rental.  The girls wants to come back again soon.

Kids Theatre: The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark

Last Friday night, I took Sarah and her friend, Raine, to watch a kid -friendly theater play, The Owl Who Was Afraid Of The Dark.

We had to rush through the Friday traffic jam to make it to the 7pm show.  We arrived right on the dot, running from the carpark to the theater door!  The lights dimmed about 7:10pm after some cast interaction with the little guests.

It was a fun and very interactive play which both girls enjoyed very much.  There was book signing and photo taking after the show.  We had some sushi at the grocery deli while waiting for Raine's family to pick her up.

Before the show

The stage before and after the kid-friendly show.

The actor who played the owl interacted with Sarah and other little guests before the show started.

Book signing

Meeting Plop the Owl up close and personal

Sarah and Raine with Plop

Sushi break at Sam's Groceria after the show

Midnight baking

On nights when Sarah sleeps early and I'm in the mood, I whip up some baked goodies in the kitchen. Last year I was more into making cupcakes and muffins.  A couple of recent midnight baking yielded oatmeal/raisins/cranberries cookies and lemon squares.

Oatmeal cookies are Sarah's favorites, sometimes mixed with chocolate chips or raisins, depending on her request.

Recently, I've made lemon squares a couple of times and have learned that it's best to use 2 lemons and 1 orange instead of 3 lemons otherwise it'll end up too sour.  Recipe used was from allrecipes.com with some tweaks.

March Half Marathon Run - Malaysia Women's Marathon 2016

21km completed at the Malaysia Women Marathon 2016

Clocked in 2:45:14 for my second half marathon of the year.

I was more prepared for this marathon compared to previous runs, having logged more running in the past weeks.  Target for this run was to finish in 2 hrs and 30 minutes or better.

But I wasn't prepared for the 8 highway ramps along the Shah Alam route!  It was grueling and draining.  I've seen training plans incorporating hill runs and I didn't think it was important enough to do it.  So far, most of the routes I've run in the past are mostly flat ones.  Of course this particular half marathon made me realize why hill run training is necessary.

Oh well, it's another learning to note on my running journey.

About to gun off - 5:30am start time.

Photo courtesy of one of the unofficial photographers.  Shot at the 15km checkpoint.

One of my dearest Penang friends, the Varilla family, met me at the airport and drove me to the race kit collection venue and dropped me off my hotel.  We had a long, leisurely early dinner at the small mall beside the hotel.  It was great to catch up with the lovely Varillas - Ella, Tani, Andre and Mariel.

Nice times with the funny Varilla family

Stayed at Concorde Hotel Shah Alam due to its proximity to the race venue, about 1km away.  The early morning walk served as my warm up exercise and the walk back was my cool down walk.

The standard room was clean but shows signs of ageing.  

The view from the window was great - the Blue Mosque.