Its a custom painted Vespa PX 125!
Ok. So its not a real scooter. But one day … one day …
Its just that all the bureaucracy of trying to get a Carta D’Identita and then a Patentino after that is quite daunting.
But anyway Stickrinaz is enjoying herself! She really missed riding! 
Other stickrinaz adventures :
In all honesty, I was a little grossed out looking at pictures of myself in December. Its entire my fault, not watching what I was eating and consuming food like Pandoro almost every day and then making it worse by stuffing my face with loads of comfort food when I was back in Singapore.
My weight reached almost 70kg. Definitely not good.
This is a picture of me and Jules in December. I keep looking at my arms in this picture and thinking what recipes I could do with my succulent arms.
The problem probably began last year.
Being newly married means that me and Cart wants to share everything together. And that includes food too. When cooking, Cart likes to measure and serve the food portions equally. I’m pretty sure that I’m not the only woman experiencing this with their partners :-P
And have you ever seen Italian food portions? Its huge!
This pizza is a portion for one person. In the beginning of the year, I could only manage eating half of it. Slowly as the months went by, I found to my horror and fascination that I could finish it all by myself 
While in Singapore, I’d be exercising regularly, doing yoga and aerobics, taking advantage of the affordable fees from community and sports center. You could go for weekly session for about $50 Singapore dollars for 3 months. I loved the facilities and the instructors are mostly fantastic.
The prices of exercise sessions in Rome on the other hand, is costlier. The most affordable one that we could find was about 54 euro per month and the place was rather dated and I didn’t fancy the instructors when they start to get repetitive.
So slowly, I started to slack and eventually stopped going.
Which is probably not a wise thing to do. I kept telling myself that I’d supplement by going for daily jogs. But that never happened. And the weight kept going up
Finally in the beginning of the year, I couldn’t stand it anymore, and I told myself that I better do something about this weight gain.
I would like to reaffirm that I do not believe in quick fixes like diet pills, weight loss spas, detoxification programs and I’ll never ever endorse them. You’d see temporary weight loss but then gain it all back some weeks or even days later. Its a waste of time and money in the end.
Coincidentally YesPecan was recommending an exercise regime called the 30 day Shred by Jillian Micheals. And I gave it a try.
Woah. The first few days was a challenge for me. While lifting my weights in front of me and doing leg stretches at the same time, I felt so wobbly! And I was so sore the next day. Every step I took, I felt my muscles complain.
Regardless, I carried on. At first, there was no weight loss but eventually, it was really nice to see the numbers go down :-D
Its not a dramatic weight loss. But I’m realistic. I’m happy just to lose slow and steady at 0.5kg every 2 weeks and not gain them back. As for food intake, I still eat practically everything I feel like but I moderate myself to stop when I feel full instead of trying to finish everything on my plate.
But what gives me the most motivation is seeing the physical results itself. This is me after finishing my 30 day shred.
I apologize in advance if this picture grosses you out, but look at my one pack! No photoshop! Woohoo! As tired as I feel, the desire to have a more toned body is strong enough to want to continue.
I’ve still a long way to go to my perfect weight, but I’m really looking forward to seeing more definition! Wish me luck! :-D
And guys! Join me! If I can do it, I am sure that you can do it too! Come on and lets motivate each other to lose weight together! 
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I like Vector Graphics.
The first time that I played around with Macromedia Flash, I thought that it was very cool and eventually, I made a couple of interesting characters.
Eventually, I found myself drawing this :
Which is a cuter version of me with the layered hair and the Eva Mendes like mole :-P
Anyhow, it stuck with me since. I used the image for my blog banner, as my avatar for almost every website that I register with, and eventually took it to the real world.
This is my very first Rinaz Item. My Rinaz badge!
Just for the fun of it, I made this for to wear for the Nexus Event. It was pretty simple to make, basically its a colour printer cut out and stamped on a badge press. I was really happy at how it turned out.
It was really interesting to see the number of people who recognized me from the badge!
Later on, after seeing how outdated my old namecards looked like, I made new ones to replace it!
I couldnt help but to use the lovely picture that Fari snapped me for the front. The back are some of the characters for my award winning book if I ever stop procrastinating.
Anyway namecards are very useful for during events such as blogger events for exchanging information with each other, rather than using a scrap of paper and pen. And it looks much more professional when you whip out your card, arch your eyebrows and say suavely, “Here is my card!”
I’ve since updated my namecard to this one
It’ll take a while for to run out of these ones since there are hardly any events that I go to in Rome, but I’ll just keep my fingers crossed that someday I’ll be femes in Italy too 
About two weeks before the wedding, I was still pondering about which cake to get till a friend suggested that cupcakes could be a good idea. By this time, it was such a last minute idea but I gave it a try anyway.
I was very lucky that Izah was willing to accept and rise up to the challenge. She did such a lovely job with the decoration and tiers, that the cupcakes were such a hit! :-)
I wish I had a couple extra to be frozen in the icebox for future generations to come though.
Later on, after purchasing my Lenovo S10 netbook, I got for myself a customised skin on a whim.
It was just a few days after the wedding, so I had a lot on my mind and was a little muddled on the design. In the end, I submitted a repeating image. The skin wasn’t cheap, but I’m really happy with how it turned out since it looks so personalised 
After living in Rome for a while, I didn’t think that I’d have any more Rinaz stuff. But it was a pleasant surprise that I still did.
My friend Lynn, who is a talented craftsmaker made this badge for me.
Oooh! Much loves! I love it as its an exact replica and it looks so 3D! I wore it practically everywhere with pride. Unfortunately I accidentally left it in the washing machine and the varnish is scratched. Luckily its not broken, and its now in Lynn’s good hands at the moment.
Nevertheless, I had a peek at Lynn making a Cart badge too. I wonder if Cartcart would be willing to wear it around
Finally I stumbled upon Beading and Beyond – a website making customised jewellery and upon looking at her works, I ordered a set and was really excited to see it when I reached Singapore.
Personally I wish that the figurines look more true to the image, but nevertheless, they look really cute and well made :-)
In any case, I love my Rinaz stuff! If you or you know anyone who can craft me a Rinaz stuff, please let me know. I’ll be looking forward to seeing them 
Sidenote : If you haven’t done so already, come and join Rinaz.net on facebook! :-)
Pretty much like last year’s Valentine’s day, this year was a pretty simple affair. Regardless, Cart and I had a very nice day.
The initial plan was to head out to the Mount Terminillo to see the snow but the weather in Rome has been rather bad, hence we headed to Castelli Romani instead.
It was interesting going through the roads. There were layers of snow everywhere. Since we were outside of Rome, it was colder and more prone to snow.
By the time we reached there, the main roads were closed and I saw a number of traffic police wardens giving fines and towing vehicles away. And then I saw a number of booths being set up. It looked as if there was a pasar malam about to start.
I was very curious by this point of time. What was going on?
But there was no time to stop and investigate as we both did not want to be late for lunch. Italians are very iffy about their food times. If you go to a restaurant at 3.30pm or later for lunch, big chances is that you’ll be turned away.
Anyhow, we headed to Trattoria dei Cacciotori. And much like the last time that we were there, there was an interesting display that we saw, the first thing that we entered the place.
Hohoho! Big diamond! Imagine if there were anyone having a diamond ring as big as this!
In anycase, we were lucky that even with the large amount of patrons in the trattoria, we had a table. And it was really crowded. The waiters were running around serving the patrons, some looked quite tired.
So we camwhored while waiting for our food to arrive.
Here I am posing with my mini-hat. I bought this while in Singapore just for fun, not knowing when I’d wear it. But I’m wearing it now since its the last few days of Carnevale. When else would I wear it after all? Its cute how people tend to smile and wave more when I’m wearing it. Hehehe!
As a sidenote, I saw something similar to my mini-hat in a shopping mall in Rome. It was almost 50 euro! Woah! I liked it, but I couldn’t bear to pay that much money for it!
Cart camwhored too :-P
Eventually, our food arrived and it was interesting to see how our table was decorated. With the red flower shaped place mat, and the heart shaped napkin holder.
I was admiring the napkin holder and that’s when I saw some words printed behind it. Rubato alla Trattoria dei Cacciotori. And I asked Cartcart what Rubato meant.
And he replied, “Stolen from”
We had a good laugh out of that.
Soonafter our food arrived. I had my beloved Piccantine ai funghi porcini and Cart had his Ravioli.
And then Cart had his artichoke while I had my verdure cotte in the background.
Cart absolutely LOVES artichoke and he’d buy 6 pieces of fresh artichoke at one go in the market. And for one week he’d make fried artichoke, artichoke in fritata, pasta with artichoke. Oh my god. I don’t mind artichokes in small doses but I’m starting to have a phobia of these things.
Anyway! On to the desserts
Initially I wanted tiramisu but since they ran out of it, I settled for this Torta Della Nonna. It was good! I loved the lemon cream in my cake.
And no, I didnt share with Cartcart 
Cart can keep his Creme Caramel :-P
We left the trattoria after having our espresso and thats when I saw what was going on. The booths were fully set up and there were loads of people in costumes walking around. There was a carnevale festival going on! Oooh!
Its not as festive as the ones in Rio De Janeiro but it was still very cheery and happy-fying anyways. I loved looking at the different colours which was in contrast to the cold chilly afternoon.
Everyone was having fun, smiling and playing with each other. There were heaps of confetti pieces everywhere. On the floor, on people, being strewn in the air.
And there were so many people wearing costumes both young and old. I spotted out this group of costumers wearing a Cleopatra outfit, an ancient Roman soldier, a princess and Pinocchio … Hmm … So tempted to pull his nose off :-P
There were also several cute outfits that I spotted out, like a really adorable Hello Kitty baby! Daphne would love that! Unfortunately, I wasn’t fast enough to snap them. But I did got a couple of shots.
This is Po from the Teletubbies! (By the way, its interesting that the Italian version of Teletubbies, they speak properly, not in baby language)
Here is a cute little chicken about to lay an egg
And this is a totally fake looking Minnie and Mickey mouse with fake pooh in the background. Could be a copyrighted issue.
They were a hit with the kids anyway, with kids asking them constantly to play and dance with them.
And there were countless of kids throwing confetti and spraying foam from cans. I’m not too fond of the foam things. So upon spotting them, I quickly swerve and manouvered away. I don’t want to get my outfit messed up.
But these kids are having fun spraying it on their friends. Their cheeks a bright pink from all the running around. There was one boy who made a foam beard on himself even. He looked like a young santa claus :-P
I was a little confused though, as I saw a couple of policemen confiscating the foam cans from a couple of kids and pulling out the nozzle so that it doesn’t function anymore. The ironic thing is that there was a small booth selling it just next to the policemen. So is it illegal or no?
Anyhow, there were also a few sideshows. Cart and I spotted a small parade band, a South American musical performances and this acrobatic act.
It was ok. I mean, after being used to seeing Chinese acrobatic troops, I’m a little harder to impress :-P
At the end of the road where the festivities ended, Cart and I naturally camwhored.
For some reason, my sister thinks that we look very married in this picture. Maybe its because we *are* married :-P
We later drove to Nemi just for a quick look see since it was along the way. Cart feared that it would be like during the Ferragosto period and would have absolutely no space for parking.
Fortunately, it was fine, and we found a spot at the entrance.
I was still fascinated by the stacks of snow everywhere. The different seasons is something interesting to see. The same spot looking different at different times of the year.
Lake Nemi is still as pretty as the last time that we’ve been there. I liked looking down to see the different buildings and farms which is built in a concentric manner around the lake and the cars going by the roads. They were so tiny from down there! Like the size of ants.
Having a bit of time before it was completely dark, we walked up to an area where you could see the lake better.
It was really nice to see the area decorated with valentine’s day decorations. There were balloons and pinks at every turn and corner. Its so secondlife!
We walked down the bridge and thats when I saw a familliar face. Its the same kitty I saw the last time we were here with Jerrick!
Its impossible to take a clear shot of the cat since she’s always moving and wriggling. And she is still as claw-y as ever. Here she is molesting my chest and clawing my coat 
But its probably because of the cold. I’m tempted to just kidnap her but she looks well fed and taken cared of, so I’m sure that she belongs to someone.
Anyhow, it was getting darker and colder, so we went to seek refuge into a little bar called Locanda lo specchio di Diana.
While this bar has excellent strawberry and strawberry cakes, we were here more for the hot chocolate instead since we were still full from our lunch.
What was interesting about this place is that they had speciality hot chocolates. I had the orange and cinammon flavoured one and I liked it very much.
I didnt take a picture of the hot chocolate that we had, since all hot chocolates look the same as each other. But here is a picture of me posing with my hot chocolate 
While Cart had his with chilli.
I tried a bit but I didnt like it that much. Its a tad bit too hot and a little wierd for me. I think I prefer chilli in Curries and Masak Merah and such.
Anyhow see what the hot chocolate did to Cart.
First it made him, “Woah this is very hot!”
Then he was like, “Urgh! This burning feeling, but I’ll be macho”
And then he’s like, “Oh please, its not hot at all!”
And finally he’s all Giles-like, “See, I’m a man!”
Tee hee hee!
We left Nemi pretty much tired from all the walking, but it was such a nice day experiencing and seeing all the sights and sounds (and tastes too) together. I really enjoyed Cart’s company :-)
Oh and before I end this post, check out the hat I bought from the festival
Cute! And I’m talking about the hat, and not myself, naturally
Hohoho! Its like I’m collecting hats all over again.
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It snowed yesterday morning in Rome.
I could sense that there was something different. The colour. It seemed a lot brighter than usual. I pulled back the curtain and I was just amazed at what I saw.
Oh my! Its snow!
Its my first time seeing snow ever and as cheesy as it sounds, it looked quite magical seeing the little flakes floating down.
Having lived in Singapore all my life where there is sun all year round, the only time that I’ve seen anything close to snow was from my parent’s old icebox or the skating rink in the mall in Jurong East before it got torn down. (Speaking of Jurong East, I’ve never been to Snow City either)
In either case, excitedly, I went out to head to the park near our house have a look see.
Brr … its really cold outside. Every step I take feels like I’m crunching the snow below my boots.
That reminds me, Ugg boots are not good for snow, since the snow can seep in and melt on your feet. Oh well. Lesson learnt.
Everything was covered in white flakes, its so beautiful. I never thought that I’d ever see snow in Rome since Cart told me that its not so frequent for Rome to have snow. The frequency is about once every 10 years or so.
So even if snow might not be a big deal, seeing this was quite special to me.
Random thought : Hey! If I poured some rose syrup and condensed milk on this, would I be able to have Ice Kacang?!
I was amused to see a couple of kids trying to slide down using the snow sled. The funny thing is that the snow wasn’t thick enough.
And there were some who were throwing snowballs at each other.
I dont think that I could do that though since my fingers already felt like they were going to get frostbites if I stayed out even longer and I haven’t even touched the snow!
In any case I couldnt help but to take the opportunity to do one of the things that I love to do …
Camwhore!
Muahahaha!
Unfortunately the snow didnt last too long and by the afternoon, it the snowfalls stopped and the white slowly melted away. Ah shucks.
Anyhow, this is a quick video I took while it was still snowing just for memory’s sakes :-)
After all, I don’t want to wait another 10 years to get this video :-P
Sidenote : Happy Valentines day and Chinese New year to all! :-)
1. Carry a box filled with food
A box of pizza or a box of cakes will do just fine
2. Walk around alone, without your husband or your boyfriend with you
And then slowly you’ll find random Italian men waving excitedly and smiling at you saying things like :
“Oh for me? Grazie!”
“You really shouldn’t have!”
“Yes! That’s mine!”
So shameless
Dammi i soldi se tu vuoi il cibo!
On the day before our flight back to Rome, I packed loads of Singaporean foodstuff in my luggage. One of these item is Maggi Mee.
Maggi Mee is probably one of the food that many Singaporeans have growing up. Since its so easily prepared, its a saviour especially for people who have no time or too lazy to cook prefer the convenience of an instant food.
I made Cart a bowl of Maggi Mee Curry to try for the first time and this is his experience. Please excuse the quality though, I didn’t realise the small resolution.
Personally I don’t know what the heck Maggi did to the formulation. Its different! You can taste it! What did you do? What did you do?!
