Hi everyone!

It's DAY 2 of the #30DayBlogChallenge and today's topic is 5 Things That I'm Grateful For. Initially, the topic was 5 Things That Makes Me Happy but I decided to change it. This topic sounds so simple but when you think about it, so many of us neglect to note down about the things that we should be grateful for on a daily basis. Especially during days where things don't seem to be working out - or now during this Covid-19 outbreak where there is so much unrest, our mind tend to focus on the storms in our life. 

Honestly, I am not the most positive being on the planet. And I have my moments where I can't think of anything to be grateful for. But I learnt that, having gratitude takes practice and our mind is a muscle we need to grow. When we focus on things to be grateful for on a daily basis, especially during days we just want to curl up in bed - it can make a difference on the way we look at things. 

So here's my list of things that I am grateful for. 

I come from a single parent family and growing up it wasn't easy. Especially with how society perceives children from single parent family. But, I'm grateful that I still have my mum and sister. Although things are rocky in my family but at least we still have each other. 

I'm also grateful for all those who are by my side, genuinely caring for me. I've always been envious of those who have their "gang" or "tribe" but honestly, I'm grateful that I have genuine friends who I know I can count on whenever I am in need. 

Though things are bad, I'm grateful that I have a roof over my head. That my mum worked hard to provide a comfortable home for us that we can have good rest every day. I'm also grateful that I am alive today which means that I have another chance to make life meaningful. Sometimes we take for granted that we are breathing and we are able to open our eyes in the morning. 

Especially during this pandemic, I'm grateful that I am still healthy and well. Health was never my priority until 3 years ago when I passed out and landed myself in the hospital. That was when I realized Health is Wealth. Being hospitalized cost money and it also means me not being able to work. After I was discharged, I told myself that my health is my priority and I cannot take it lightly. I started taking supplements on a daily basis, exercise and ate well. Seeing the death toll due to the virus, I am grateful that me and my family are well.

I cannot emphasize or express enough how grateful I am to have my fiance, Joel in my life. Growing up with abandonment issues, I am not an easy partner. I tend to run away and push him away during confrontations. I guess for me it was always "Fight or Flight". But he showed me patience and so much love that I sometimes take for granted. Regardless, he always stands firm by my side - teaching me right from wrong and never lets go. 

To tell the truth, I am still battling and healing from my abandonment issues. And I still have that constant fear that he will leave. But, I learnt that self-awareness is the first step to healing. So I'm facing all my inner demons and I know that I will conquer this fear in me in God's name! AMEN!

For those of you who aren't aware, 3 years ago I embarked in a new journey in business. I had the opportunity to partner with a US based company that is specializing in Health & Beauty products. Over the past 3 years, I have been responsible for the distribution of their products in this region. I learnt so much in terms of health products, skincare, fitness that I can professionally consult anyone who is looking for better health or skin. Other than that, the journey to growing my business and my team has been so enlightening. I never thought myself in a leadership position or leading my own team of franchise partners. 

I'm grateful for the opportunity and to all those who believed in me, supported me and joined my team. During the last trip to USA, seeing my name as one of the recognized Brand Partner made me feel that it was worth it. But most importantly, being able to connect to so many friends that I met online and walking together in this journey we call Life was even more fulfilling. 

And that's about it for the 5 things I am grateful for. What about you? 

Til next time,

xoxo

Miriam

Hi everyone! 

I'm aiming to be more consistent in updating my blog and so I came across this 30 days challenge that I thought might be fun to get the ball rolling so let's hope I'll be able to complete this challenge. 

Why my blog name? Miriam Merry Go Round - This name came about 5 years ago when I wanted to be more active and consistent in growing my blog. I wanted it to be something that rhymes with my name and revolves around what my blog will be about. I loved carousels because it always gives me the feeling of joy and that's where merrygoround came about. It also meant Merrily Going Around as I didn't want my blog to be just one niche topic but more about my life and me exploring the world with it. 

I've always wanted my blog to be a platform to share my life story and walk together with my readers because of how blogs influenced my life. Yes.. I came from that generation where blogs were the IN thing and I remember the first time I joined a blogging community (Butterfly Project Malaysia) - and meeting those bloggers whom I used to look up to. I love to read travel blogs because me 5 years ago never stepped out of Malaysia and from their stories I felt transported to wherever they visited. Beauty blogs gave me an insight into the beauty industry and taught me how to beautify myself where food blogs were my guide to the best places to eat. 

I've always been an introvert, a wallpaper back in high school and I've always wanted to be able to express myself. That's where I started to blog. It started with being a diary to motivating me to step out of my comfort zone and exploring the unknown. To share it to the world and connect with people with similar interest. Over time, adulting happened and when blogs started to die down, I started to stop blogging. Being more active on Facebook and Instagram instead. Another reason was, blogging became so commercialized that I missed how personal my blog was to me. 

Fast forward to today, I really miss being able to just document my life story in my blog and just share the raw details of my travels, food hunting experience and connecting with everyone. So here I am back again and I just want to go back to the basics of blogging for myself and for you reading this. 

That's all for now. See you tomorrow :) 

xoxo

Miriam 

Hi merry goers! I'm back for another #MiriamEats post and this time it is in Puchong. It's been a while since I last went food hunting. Recently since I'm on my fitness journey, I have one day for my cheat meals so last weekend, me and my family visited a newly opened restaurant around our neighbourhood.

Their signature dish is the Steamed Fish Head which you can order in 4 different cooking methods: Steamed / Preserved Radish / Black Soy Bean / Ginger. Depending on your hunger level for that day, you can opt for the Small or Large serving. However, take my advice and go for the large because it's just an additional RM3 and it's worth it. We were a party of 5 so we decided to order the Steamed Fish Head with Preserved Radish and LARGE. When it arrived, oh boy we were definitely very satisfied with the serving size especially the topping.

We love steamed fish head dishes but that also means we are picky about what is equivalent to a good steamed fish head. Especially for Joel, he is sensitive with the mud-taste that some fish dishes have when it's not fresh plus after our experience dining in a restaurant in Gopeng, Perak our standards for good steamed fish is rather high. That being said, the steamed fish head served in Kim Mun Steamed Fish Head restaurant passed all the tests and is definitely one of the recommended dishes that you must order. Joel even ordered another bowl of rice just to sapu all the toppings!

The next dish we ordered was their Vinegar Pork Trotters! This was a dish recommended by the server and the ladies in my family love this dish. It isn't a common dish that you find in most Chinese eateries and it's more of a health dish that ladies eat during their confinement period. The last time I had this dish was when Joel's mum cooked it for us last year and I do have cravings for it. The Vinegar Pork Trotter was served in a claypot and the taste was on point! The vinegar was just well seasoned and the pork trotters tender and juicy.

Asides from the Steamed Fish Head and the Vinegar Pork Trotters, we also ordered Chicken in Thai Style and Stir Fried Spinach. Both the dishes were nicely done especially the Stir Fried Spinach. My mum is the typical Asian mum who feels that ordering veggie dishes when we are dining out is not worth it but I'm the daughter who always insists to order at least one veggie dish. There are some restaurants that overcook their vegetable dishes or douse it with tons of oil that you no longer feel healthy eating it but not this restaurant. Good generous serving, cooked just right and not overly oily plus they were generous with their garlic slices too. This dish got two thumbs up from me and my sister.

The Chicken in Thai Style did not really stand out as much for me but it was satisfactory. Who can say no to deep fried chicken in sweet Thai chili sauce. The sweet and sour flavors make the whole dinner very appetizing. The chicken is nicely fried, super crispy and had generous toppings on it too.

Lastly, while we were just enjoying good conversation and ROI-ing on our pot of tea, we were tempted with the plates of fried beancurd the next table ordered. Kim Mun Steamed Fish Head Restaurant serves Yong Tau Foo dishes as well and initially the server did recommend us to order but we weren't feeling it. But since Joel was eating his final plate of rice and with the excuse that he needed additional dishes to eat with his rice, we decided to order 4 pieces of Fried Stuffed Beancurd and it definitely was worth it. Each piece was huge! And they cut it into three pieces so there was more than enough to share around. Super crispy and well stuffed - this was a good appetizer or for us an ending dish before we call it a night.

In total, the bill came up to RM90 for all 5 dishes with 4 plates of rice and a pot of tea. Tip: You can opt to bring your own tea leaves like we did. They will charge you RM3 for refillable hot water.

Ratings:
Taste 4/5
Ambience 4/5
Price 5/5

The Music Run (TMR) by CIMB happening on 23 November at the National Stadium at KL Sports City will be Malaysia’s first carbon neutral mass participation event and the first sustainability themed running event in the country.

Combining the elements of music and running, TMR will take the form of a 5-kilometre and 10-kilometre running race with more than 100 speakers lining the entire Sound Track circuit, culminating in what is regarded as the world’s best finish line party. With a giant stage showcasing local bands and the renowned Live The Beat show, this fun and energetic event provides a one-of-a-kind, safe, healthy, enjoyable and sustainable experience for all participants.

Mohamed Adam Wee Abdullah, Group Chief Marketing Officer, CIMB Group said, “We are excited to be part of TMR, a great platform to raise awareness, encourage and empower participants to embrace sustainability and take action towards shaping a more responsible society. TMR ties in well with CIMB’s focus on championing the sustainability agenda as one of the key pivots in our current growth strategy. Given our firm commitment on sustainability, we have worked hard to ensure every aspect of this event is not just fun, but also sustainable.”

“Besides making the event bigger and more fun this year, we also realise the potential impact of 20,000 individuals on the environment. This is why we are making sustainability a primary focus this

year. Together with CIMB as our Presenting Partner, we are taking an active stance to achieve our sustainability goals by reducing single use plastics while also implementing an industry-leading recycling and food waste-management programme,” said Sam Middlehurst, Co-Founder and Managing Director of The Music Run.

“This is made possible by teaming up with a number of remarkable ‘green’ and enterprising organisations who actively champion environmental issues. For instance, we have teamed up with YTL Group Sustainability to independently track all greenhouse gas emissions produced during the event. With the help of CIMB, the event’s emissions will be offset through an investment in a water filtration project in Indonesia that uses ceramic filters to produce safe drinking water, thus eradicating the traditional requirement to boil water prior to drinking it. This is a Gold Standard project which contributes to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 13 - Climate Action in addition to benefitting local communities by contributing to at least two additional SDGs,” he added.

The organisers will also be working with Visionary Solutions, using proprietary technology by Sweden’s Bluewater, one of the world’s most innovative clean water solution companies, to incorporate a revolutionary water distribution system, eradicating the need for single-use plastic water bottles. Participants will have access to 100% clean and purified drinking water, and, using reusable water bottles provided by CIMB in their run pack which they can conveniently refill at stations strategically placed throughout the venue. This initiative will prevent potentially 80,000 single-use plastic water bottles from entering our landfills and oceans. Moreover, the organisers will also be eliminating more than 40,000 pieces of single-use plastic wrapping from items in participant run packs, including T-shirts and medals.

In addition to cash prizes and other goodies, race winners will also be the proud recipients of Malaysia’s first Winners’ Trophies made from recycled E-Waste provided by CIMB in collaboration with ERTH, a Malaysian company specialising in the recycling of e-waste. To date, CIMB has collected 3- tonnes of E-Waste, all of which will be recycled into the Winners’ Trophies. TMR by CIMB will also partner with Paperway to makeover its iconic “Rock Hand” giveaways using recycled cardboard, which will replace the traditional foam used in previous years. Paperway will also be supporting the event with their unique recycled cardboard tables and chairs for participants to relax at the Food Village.

Indeed, waste management will play a huge part of the event to ensure the event to be as sustainable as possible. As part of the effort to reduce, reuse and recycle waste wherever possible, the event will also see the involvement of some of the country’s most innovative green enterprises including KLEAN, which will showcase new ways to reward consumers for recycling using their “reverse-vending machines”. All recycling at the event will be handled by industry experts, iCYCLE, with dedicated recycling bins dotted across the venue. Meanwhile, all compostable food waste at the Food Village will be collected and taken to a composting facility operated by Ground Control. This nutrient rich compost will then be used by the Free Tree Society to plant trees that will be donated and replanted at local schools. Any leftover food will be accounted for by The Lost Food Project, which adopts appropriate food and hygiene standards in redistributing the food to those in need.

Participants of TMR are encouraged to do their part in order to ensure the success of this noble cause.

Among the practical ways they can contribute include car-pooling or using public transportation, including the LRT, to get to the event. Participants will also be reminded to maintain the cleanliness of the event area, while responsibly and appropriately disposing of any waste.

More information about the event can be found at www.themusicrun.com.my