J.U.N.I.E

2011

2011-06-12T17:01:00.009+08:00

2011 Update

It’s been almost more than half a year since I made my last post. Many things happened throughout these six months, some good and bad.

Passing of Cookie, and some personal events on top of a crazy workload made me only want to have a rest and have my own personal time at the end of each day. I am sorry to say that I did not really get in touch with the bunch of my closest friends for a while.

I got engaged earlier this year, although it’s not a decision widely supported by some people. But I am truly happy that this is finally happening, after a five long years of long distance dating. I’m busy with the Singapore side of things so far. We initially intend to get the civil ceremony done in Australia, a lovely little white wedding non denominational church, somewhere the Glasshouse Mountains, in Queensland. Just the two of us, and the ceremony conductor. A simple ceremony, without the cares and expectations of other people.

However, my priority is to be able to work while in Australia. I really like this job better than I was doing back as a chemical engineer. Although this company has its flaws like every company does, the core job is much suitable for me. Of course, naturally, there is always the mortgage, the renovations and furniture I need to consider. I could always just resign and go there without a care, but it’s not until 9-12 years later before the visa comes through. And it’s not wise to rely on a single income, when there are wedding costs and mortgage costs to consider.

Battling with my work arrangements had not been easy. My company as much as supported me mentally to based in Australia, it’s not easy to go through the HR side of things. The talks with them had been highly grueling and a difficult High Australian commissioner officer had made it ever more challenging to get a spouse and work visa application done. The whole go to and thro process wore me out, and we decide to drop the visa and I shall continue to work till the end of this year. And bring forward the Chinese wedding to 7 Jan 2012, and I will be making my way to Australia. Meanwhile, I will apply the prospective spouse visa, with a whole load of documents to prepare.

I am handling the Singapore side of things mostly, with Gavin assisting from Oz. We finally settled at Intercontinental Hotel, a simple lunch celebration of 60, with only close family and relatives, close friends. I browsed too much wedding blogs and I now have too high expectations of everything. From reception décor to invites to even ceiling décor, I am sourcing for vendors to quote us, but being the wedding industry, everything is highly overpriced and now looking at other options to top up the existing décor. I already more of less know which supplier to get to, what cakes I want, which wines and beer. Now, me and Gavin are planning for the photoshoot in Australia. Originally, we thought of Perth, the place we started, our university at Curtin. But budget finally brought us down to reality, and we settled for Gold coast, to the beach where he brought me there for a proposal (although its was pouring, and I could not see the beautiful view outside).

Now, my time seems to be packed fully, with all these nitty gritty stuff, not forgetting the work that needs to be done back in office. Somehow, my cries of overwork was ignored, and I am virtually staying late in the office almost everyday. I went to business trips one after and another in March. Apr and May, and as much I like to enjoy seeing some of the city sights in places I never went before, I also have very time to rest during those trips.There were also times when I was the last one to switch off the lights in the office at 12 midnight, and taxi claims were dated to the next morning. Almost every word that my $480 bazi consultation came back, highly workload this year, relationships with friends and family strained, and asks me to notice my stomach related issues.

True enough, I got some real bad times at work, and many conflicts throughout, and ultimately my health falter. I got bouts of acid reflux every now and then, and I could not digest some foods nowadays. So I went on a diet overhaul, and cut back on processed food and drinks, and making sure I watch carefully what I eat and catch my meals regularly. So far, things have been better, fortunately.

So now, is to fix up the visa application asap, get the wedding preps done too. And also the house in Australia, we are scaling back the original plans instead, to a single storey one, and smaller in size. I like it very much, especially the walk in wardrobe. Other plans also include spending more time with my family and friends, while I am still in Singapore. Suddenly this year, we have been going out for more family gatherings, like going some nearby places like JB, and parts of the west to try out good food. And we are also finally going to our first overseas trip as a family to Bangkok this year.

Hopefully, things will go out well, and I’m on the path to saying goodbye to my singlehood in 6 months time.

Goodbye Cookie

2010-11-03T12:31:00.005+08:00

Goodbye Cookie, my good boy

Been with us since 29 April 2002, left us on 1 Nov 2010..

Will miss you and love you forever..

1st Step to new home

2010-08-22T20:38:00.008+08:00

1st Step to New home

Finally, me and Gavin took our very 1st step to our life in Australia. During the trip I went over to Australia, we secured a piece of land in Crestmead, the place is somewhere 20 mins drive to Brisbane and about 40 mins to Gold Coast, close to major shopping center and the Chinese food area.

There will be a huge park right beside it, just right across the block of land...perfect..

And if all goes well, we will probably be looking at building this house on top of it. And the best part is I get to change the floor plan and everything..
And it will most likely be ready by March next year! only take 18 weeks to build..

My 27th Birthday celebration

2010-06-21T20:32:00.009+08:00

My 27th Birthday Celebration
Singapore Recreation Club

The place is actually quite comfy and nice leh..I am quite impressed, just that the breakfast wasnt that fantastic.. and there was the NDP rehearsal going on, so abit noisy..

the location is very good too.just one street opp raffles city mac there..

nice stay..enjoy the 2 nites rest too...very happy that Gain flew back just in time to celebrate my birthday with me too.

We just went around Orchard , city hall for shopping..and its very convenient. I reached orch like in 5-10 mins from city hall.

and there is the Mango SALE! trench coat and bag...half price..so happy...thanks dear. Polo tees for Gavin..aiya..gave Gavin a nicey branded key chain for his car,,but forgot to take pic...
Haha..It's more like a shopping trip rather than a birthday celebration..we ate so much junk that we skipped the birthday cake.
Dinner at Shokudo's..

Two years ago, when Pink army celebrated my birthday with me at this place, I told Gavin online that one day we should come and have dinner here...and din we know...it was two years later...that finally Gavin flew back to sg to have dinner with me at this place...

Happy Anniversary

2010-04-26T00:09:00.002+08:00

Happy 4th Anniversary

26 April 2010
It's been 4 good years...and I cant wait to see you in person in June..

Happy 8th Birthday Cookie

It's hard to believe Cookie's 8 and he still behaving like a puppy...

oh yeah..both occasions fall on the same date..very qiao..

I also cant wait to see a slim Cookie again..can ever Cookie resume back to his champion dog's son status? maybe not..looking at how much he love his bak kwa..lol

Kunming Business Trip 22 Apr 2010

2010-04-25T16:31:00.011+08:00

Kunming Business Trip

Kunming city

The conference I'm attending..no wonder my Indian manager told me to come..they speak in 100% technical language Chinese,,cant even understand the translation..couldnt understand a single English sentence

part of the conference, a complimentary tour of the Yunnan Minority Group Village..a place to slaughter tourists obviously..

Qi Guo Qi..Airpot chicken..Yunnan speciality

Guo Qiao Mi Xian..over the bridge noodles...yummy! only RMB30 for the deluxe set...in a posh restaurant

Yunnan tu chan...apparently I don like it..and famous for Pu-er tea

And a minority group doll.this is Li Zu....

March Upates

2010-03-28T14:47:00.016+08:00

Recent Events

IKEA SALE- $1.50 Breakfast set from 7.30 am.

Quite worth it rite..even comes with coffee or tea..There are so many people who obviously went for the breakfast deal..They looked they had just woke up and barely wash their face, with very ''bong" hair.. I think my sis and I are the freshest people looking around..we put on make up, blow our hair and even put on accessories like earrings and stuff..very kua zhang..lol

Cookie turning 8 this April..but still behaves like a baby.

and growing fatter and fatter by the minute...my mum says he look like a papaya...

of course, we managed to wake up so early for this sold out breakfast set...like 6.30 am..as now we have a very punctual "canine snooze" at home ie Cookie Lim ... who will wince slowly at short intervals to loud barks if you refused to wake up to walk him..better than my handphone alarm who sometimes will fail due to low battery.

Not many people are as crazy to go shopping at IKEA at 8 am in the morning, so I have the opportunity to take pics of their stuff that I like..I love this kitchen island..My aim is to have a kitchen island next time...

And this bedroom, very metropolitan feel..

KATE SPADE SALE at SAFRA TAMPINES

Bought this kate spade bag after signing the contract for my new job..And its at Safra Tampines..and its damn far..and also its was pouring that day..super lang bei after we came out..cos my sis and I have to share my little umbrella...

I thought no one will go to that Kate Spade sale at that ulu Safra...and in that weather, I was wrong! The room was packed full and some OLs obviously sneaked out from the office to go and grab the bags lo..

but of cos this bag is quite worth the sale..almost half price of its usual retail price..

NEW JOB

I just recently stated work at a company at Expo..which is super far from where I am staying...almost one end to the other...luckily this job starts at 9 am...so i can still go out like say 7.30..but the journey is still quite long. I have since gave up on any heels higher than 2 inch..I only wear 1in or almost flat shoes to work...

My previous one is start at 7.30 a.m..and it requires me to even take a ferry to work..so I always lamost have to take the 1st bus..which is highly depressing la..

So my new job is sort of a career switch..I am a markets reporter/editor for the petrochemical market...which is quite ironic la...whoever knows me well enough should know I got a just pass for my O level English..Now I am sort of an editor who gets to publish industrial mags...so its comes as no surprise my articles's contents are rather dry, and often full of grammer mistakes..luckily there will be an experienced sub editor who will finalise the articles before they are published..

Now I have to polish up my Mandarin as most of the industry players are from Taiwan and China and also I need to go learn some Japanese in the near future...as there are some Japanese industrial people also..and I only know how to speak Good morning and Good afternoon in Japanese..

LOREAL AND CROCS SALE AT EXPO

And so the only good thing about working so far, is the Expo sales! haha...there are always sales on Fri to Sun..So after work I can go to Expo for the sales..and they are quite crazy as well..

Just last last Friday on the same day as the Kate Spade sale..there's the Food Expo...and last sat there's the Loreal and Crocs sale..and people are really buying ALOT. the loreal queue is like a snake..and there are 15 mins promos every now and then..and prices are real cheap..like say $5 for a lipstick, $6 for day cream..and $10 for a day cream set...

I bought the loreal hair dye for $5 each only..what a deal..and the hair spray 2 for $15..

And the crocs pins for only 2 pack for $5 (4 pins)..and its Disney Limited Edition one leh..so cute...I went to Metro paragon on Sat and they are selling $7.90 each for other similar designs...

haha..There's a John Little Expo coming next Fri..

1st outing Nicole and Hayden

2010-03-18T18:28:00.004+08:00

Outing with Nicole & Hayden & Mum & Dad

Its the 1st outing with my niece and nephew..brought them to JP and Mac for Happy meal..my parents were there too...Now then I realised having kids is so troublesome...you constantly have to look out for them..one moment u are not looking,they run off already...and to prevent that, you have to hold their hands ALL the time...then u have to keep them engaged, ask them questions...explain this and that to them...

really don understand why some people want to have soooo many kids...one is more than enough for me already...

The only kids at Mac on a weekday afternoon..

No time to take pictures..eat 1st... My niece, Nicole and me..Nicole just recovered from fever...but still able to wolf down the whole Mac meal..haha

Tiger Year Fortune

2010-02-28T15:59:00.001+08:00

Tiger Year Fortune Outside Si Ma Lu Guan Yin Temple

Happy Valentine Day

2010-02-11T10:44:00.002+08:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

Chinatown Nian Huo Shi Chang

2010-02-10T00:08:00.013+08:00

Chinatown Festive Street Bazaar

It's been ten long years since I went to Chinatown Festive Street Bazaar, aka Nian Huo Shi Chang. I still remembered when I bought 4 or 5 of the McDonald's Hello Kitty Dolls at the stalls back then. (Yes, it's the 2000 Hello Kitty craze lor..haha)

So after 10 long years, my parents, Sis and I made the trip there..

First, a photo at Jurong Point..my mum looked so tired cos she's been washing clothes the whole night before hand..

Ah..the queue at Lim Chee Guan..

Cai Shen Ye

Year of the Tiger..hopefully it's a better year for me and everyone..Roarz*

Lucikly the street bazaar is not so crowded...

Pumpkin...tot they are for Halloween?

Haha..

My dad's very into the lion doll..My house already got one white and one black..and it got creepy protuding eyes..even Cookie is scared of it..

I think he will get another few on Chu Xi when he come with my mum on Chu Xi for the last minute bargains..It's a yearly event for my dad and mum ..I think he has been going every Chu Xi since for the past 30 years or so..or maybe more..

This is Fu Gui Hua or Mudan? Not too sure..take pic more important...apparently my sis refused to take any photos cos she got a cut right across her nose and has to put an ugly plaster over it.haha.During spring cleaning..the lamp shade fell from the shelf. It was quite a bad cut actually..even her hand got cut too..but the funny thing is that she is afraid of blood..so she virtually turned pale and "pi" on the sofa while I cleaned the floor of the blood she dripped and clean her wound..Silly thing is that she walked around frantically around the kitchen and living room and the blood dripped everywhere..I was still sleeping when she woke me up to help her.. Then Cookie is more er xin, go and lick the blood...as if he is a vampire..so scared it will trigger his wolf instincts and attack people..

Go home lo..my dad's still very high about the decorations galore..my mum is tired and her legs are aching...she and my sis are sweating as if they went sauna or something. I ok leh..no sweat no nothing..except face a bit red from the ezcema flare up and of cos my shoulders aching..cos my mum insisted on buying loads of stuff from the Swanston toiletries store (very much like Chinatown Watsons) at Chinatown..its way way cheaper almost 50% for some stuff but yes..I'm here for the CNy stuff ..not buy what Mr Muscle cleaning spray and toothpaste and hair conditioner and body wash..heavy leh..

But overall nice experience, after missing CNY in Sg last year, it's nice to be preparing for CNY in sg this year with friends and family..(I just washed all my new clothes...it's like over 20 pieces...haha..I din even know I bought that much in SG and Aust)..and the worst, I just bought another 4 pieces at Cotton On yesterday..(but its cheap la..buy 1 get 2nd pc 50% off)..of cos buy..I bought a pair of shorts for only $2.50 leh...

So today, will be making 2nd batch of pineapple tarts, cos my sis FORGOT the recipe and we got a big batch of failed ones at home...

Movieworld

2009-12-31T19:24:00.023+08:00

MOVIEWORLD TRIP 26 Dec to 29 Dec 2009 The apartment hotel we stayed in..not bad ah...$89 per night, still got kitchenette and full laundry facilities inside the bathroom..right beside Brisbane River some more, and only 5 mins to the city..

Haha..we packed so much titbits and stuff, as in we are going for 3 weeks stay, when we are only staying for 3 nights..

Inside Movieworld,

u know, I thought it will be extremely sunny..so I applied SPF 90 sunblock all over my face and body before I set off, but in the end, it was extremely cloudy and it even rained in the afternoon..what a waste of my efforts..lol

1st stop: Hollywood Stunt Driver, apparently its the most popular show here, cos everyone is almost running to the entrance 45mins before the show..and we are very lucky, we got the best seats in the house, right in the center..

so cool..the car split in half..

The car then drove off the roof...

and then BOMB...lucky my lousy camera still managed to capture it..accidentally broke the plastic part of the camera where the battery is kept..have to use rubber band to secure it..so lang bei..lol

Felt abit cheated..the candies inside are just normal candy wat...

Some Batman car....there is no people when we 1st went there, then we start snapping, suddenly there's a crowd snapping pics as well..

We took the Scooby Doo ride too..I was screaming my head off....lol

The Shrek Store...we went for the Shrek 4D show too and the special effects were quite good..just that I hate the water part of it..where they keep do this water spray thing on your face.

Ah...my fav...Harry Potter show...its look just like Diagon Alley in the movies..

The Golden Snitch! I bought the keychain back..haha..abit childish but I like it..lol

Ah...the Sorting Hat

The Batman show...but the Batman quite fat..got tummy and his thighs are super thick.lol

The Marilyn Monroe dress..

ACTION!

After we took the Batwing Spaceshot, it was damn good, its been years that I took those crazy rides..last time was when I was doing the first aid duty at Sentosa and omg, that is 10 years ago...

Missed the Superman ride cos it started raining shortly we took the shot..

Exhibition of the 3rd Narnia movie set...never read the books..so have no idea what's with the ship and the headless trio..and the dragon head

But it's quite impressive...cos its really quite huge and well detailed..maybe I shall watch the 1st two movies ba..

Just before we go home..

Finally found something suitable for our paktor style, we finally realised we are not the type to go those places to see historical stuff or scenery, or go some fancy restaurants to eat...we are much suited to go those commercial theme parks or fairs...and Gavin get to do his adrenaline rides and I get to buy silly childish memorabilia from the gift shops..lol

Christmas Eve 2009

2009-12-24T22:26:00.010+08:00

Christmas Eve 2009 My initial intention is to make a roast turkey which is very "Christmas-ty" but unfortunately, it's way too big for the two of us and of cos our small fridge cant even fit it in...Hence, we made a 1.7 kg pork roast after reading the free Christmas food idea magazine from the supermarket..and the 1.7kg is the smallest one we can find in the supermarket section..everything from the hams to the turkeys to roasts were all gigantic...it's like for an army...

It took 2 days before hand to defrost and set it and 3 hours on the actual day to create this master piece...And it was a success! See how crispy is that pork crackling...almost identical to the pic from the mag..haha..I am so proud..

The Xmas hats I got one year ago..haha..finally has the chance to wear it.. The white wine and red wine is for show only...lol...we end up drinking soft drinks..haha

Enjoying our food..the pork taste really good with the thick brown gravy made from the pan juices and with apple sauce..

Its actually the first time that I'm celebrating Christmas with Gavin despite we were together for more that 3 years plus, somehow we just missed it...I'm glad that I can celebrate with him, despite being in this small town..and nothing much we can do after eating except from watching the 2009 Victoria Secret Show on TV..

But anyway,

To my dear Pinkies and anyone who's reading this, here's hoping you get nice gifts that don't s**k. Though it's the thought that counts, but it's really good taste that's appreciated. LOL

Wish you a

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

New Dishes

2009-12-11T12:40:00.003+08:00

Things that I cooked recently

Shui Jiao..very proud of myself..I never knew I know how to fold them..lol

Meatless Minestrone Soup

Curry Rice

Apple Pie

Jiang Cong Yu Pian..Gavin says its looks and tastes like the real deal in a restaurant..wahaha...make my head big..lol

Toowoomba Christmas Wonderland

2009-12-08T20:42:00.008+08:00

Toowoomba Christmas WonderlandI have been trying to find a good place for chilli mussels for quite a while. Apparently, Brissies are not too keen on chilli mussels. They're more on steak and they really do great steak here. And finally,I found some rave reviews on the net on this place called The Spotted Cow. And so. last last Saturday, we decided to try it out. And it was super delicious. It's their signature dish too. Hoe Garden Chilli mussels with garlic, ginger and lemon. Yum Yum. And it's only $24.90 for one kg of mussels.

Just finished shopping...on the way to dinner. The Xmas tree is alive de..so authentic.

Then we headed out to this Christmas Wonderland at Queens Park. It's actually for charity. So we just donated any amount we wanted for entry. Even ice cream, we just donated any amount we wanted.

The lights are actually quite nice, it's a pity my camera cant capture the beauty of it.

And the snowman..very cute

And it really sets the Christmas mood, I'm already planning my Christmas dinner menu (despite already attended two Christmas parties by Gavin's company ). Probably wont be doing a roast turkey, maybe a roast chicken to substitute..haha..yeah I probably do that.

December Plans

2009-11-25T13:21:00.001+08:00

December Plans

Yeah...something fun coming up...for our Brisbane and Gold Coast trip, we finally managed to book a studio apartment in Brisbane city for 3 nights during the super peak period (26 to 28 Dec)..which is actually quite a good deal at $99 per nite. It's a pity that the Surfers Paradise hotels were all fully booked and for our Movieworld trip we need to drive down from the city to Gold Coast. Luckily we also got a ''Buy one get one free'' entry coupon for Movieworld, saving us around $69.95. Really looking forward to Movieworld..and the gift shop..haha

After which, I'm coming home on Dec 30...and I booked the bus tickets too. And it's really a long long journey home..and I can tell you why.

0430 Rise & Shine

0530 Set off to Toowoomba

0630 Off to Brisbane city (2 hour in travel coach..might be bus sick..haiz)

0840 Reach Brisbane City

0840 Take Air Train to Airport (dragging my 23kg luggage)

0930 Reach Airport

0930 to 1130 Take shuttle bus and go Direct Factory Outlet for last min shopping (lol)

1130 Check In and let the very fierce Custom officers ask questions as if you are a criminal

1340 Flight Depart and see Qantas able to fly anot..got a few bad experiences with them (eg..try to fly up but cannot and land again...very bad turbulence when I was coming here, waiting for a long time for our luggage to come out and also one of the air stewardess handing me a rotten apple as a snack..totally off)

2100 (Sg time) Reach Sg if no delay

2100 Take cab back home (sure car sick like mad)

2200 Reach home and let Cookie bark at me cos he sure very blur (heard he very naughty and super fat now, I come back sure give him some colour to see)

2300 Wait till Mum come out of toilet and let me take the very stressed shower, with frequent knocks on the door to tell me shower faster..and my sis nagging me to unpack immediately..cos she cannot stand any mess..

Twilight Saga: New Moon

2009-11-24T14:02:00.001+08:00

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

The Twilight sensation in Oz is just crazy..and it happened to me as well..and I managed to convince Gavin to spend $33AUD and drove 45 mins to go to the cinema with me on Saturday..

The movie theatre was full of teenage girls..haha..there's even like a school teacher bringing one whole group of girls..(summer holidays for the oz students here..the school excusions here are so happening..they bring them to movies or the Royal show..not like our time..always go zoo, bird park, science center..boring)..there are only like 5 or 6 guys in the whole cinema..which obviously freaked Gavin out..haha..and he also happened to the oldest guy there...

The crowd is very spontaneous..everytime Edward Cullen or Jacob Black flashed their abs..or there is a kissing scene and stuff like that...the crowed went ''woo...'' or ''ahh..'' very funny...as for the movie review..I think it is critic proof for those who like the story or the actors..but I think the movie is quite consistent with the story line...but those who are going for the movie...look out for the giant blueberry muffins (I wonder how to make it) and oh yeah, the surprise at the end..ha

and before the movie, there is this Volvo ad that feature the same car that Robert Pattinson drove in the ad...haha...the crowd went crazy too...haha...Volvo really know how to do business...there might be alot of guys changing their car very soon to attract girls or girlfriends nagging their boyfriends to change their car soon..

Summer Heat

2009-11-19T20:06:00.005+08:00

Summer Heat

The weather here in Queensland has been extremely hot lately, it can reach up to 39 degrees in the day and it's not the kind of warm we get in Singapore, the kind of warm just sting the skin..like you are in a sauna but just that you simply cant sweat it out.

Accordingly to the news, it's all due to climate change. and it is about 20 degrees higher in some places of Australia for this time of the year.

Some days I can even feel dizzy because of the heat esp mid day..I cant switch on the air conditioner whole day too, cos of the high bills and its very drying on my skin too.

Hot also cannot, air con also cannot..dilemma

(Our couple flip flops..I need to buy a Size 7! The heat must have made my feet expand by another size...)

Just when the weather reports come and say there will be a thunderstorm coming, I was so happy about it cos finally can get some humidity and also keep down the smell of cow manure (they use it as fertiliser and the wind carries the smell everywhere.yucks).But the thunderstorm came and also took the electricity away. There's been 2 power trips so far, the latter being worse as it lasts 4 hours and during the warmest time of the day. I drank 2 L of ice cold water today just to combat the heat..haha

And now, icy soft drink is now our latest best friend,we even bought 5 flavours (which mean 5 boxes..a bit crazy..but its on offer haha) of it. Kirks is like the Yeos here. Nowadays when we go to the supermarket, there are a lot of people buying crates of Cokes and other soft drinks, the kind of sight when we can only see during CNY.
And temperatures are forecast to go even higher, I think I would be suffering from heat stroke very soon..haha

Congrats to Wyn and Zhengyu

2009-11-15T14:38:00.004+08:00

Congratulations to Wyn and Zhengyu!

Congrats to Wyn on getting the rock..and to Zhengyu for popping the question successfully

and keep up the hard work..project launched a success.

...Luckily we can view all the action from webcam..despite our camera was kept in suspense by a towel..haha..looking forward to the photos...

So many good news from our Pinkies like Huixia's ROM and Peisze's wedding proposal lately..so happy for each and every of them.. may more good news come in the near future too!

Dinner Time Pics

2009-11-04T10:47:00.006+08:00

Dinner Time Going western...and I got a burn on my face while frying that drumstick..heng never hui rong.

Gyoza...very challenging...

Sandwich for Gavin's lunch at work

Ham and Pea Alfredo pasta

Teriyaki Chicken

Pita bread

Moving Places

2009-11-04T09:29:00.015+08:00

October and November Updates

For the past 5 weeks we have been staying at Myall Motel, which is a one bedroom apartment, with complete kitchen and living room..Gavin's company is paying for all these,and its not cheap, its at least 150 for a normal room in this area, i think the apartment we are staying might be 200 per nite or something..

We even bought mooncakes from Brisbane before we get back to Dalby..but the quality is really poor..we threw all the egg yolks out..

Breakfast served on some days too..very hao ming..eat until fat qu..haha..

Gavin in his new job..Compression Engineer at Arrow Energy..a much happier man at his new job..getting his own company 4 wheel drive soon..

And for the one week or so our meals are covered too (my share is covered too..hahah)..so during one of the weekend we drive out to the nearest city Toowoomba..where we had lunch at The Coffee Club..one of the more fancy restaurants in town le..
Lunch at The Coffee Club..the pancake very nice..(add that few strawberries need extra $5..heng not I pay)

We had also just moved out to this rental house that we finally found.The rental property in this area is really horrible..the houses are old and tattered and often come unfurnished..finally found this one with at least a washing machine and fridge and a bed..$200 per week excluding bills..but the sad thing is there is no TV..haiz..got to rely on the hard disk for my entertainment liao..heng got at least 1000 GB worth of shows.. The place we staying now..look very much the kind that need a serious renovation. But can tell you..this is one of the better ones out here le..there are much worse..lol..

The weather is very sunny and dry now too..(some days can be up to 39 deg..but you still cant sweat out that kind)..and it's spring and its also hayfever season too..the pollen fly everywhere..I get runny nose and puffy eyes whenever I go out..my eyes look like goldfish most days too..which is quite depressing.. See my eyes so puffy..I never have yan dai in my life b4 de leh..sianz (and most of the pics I keep wearing this dress..cos most other clothes are with the house removalists..I should have brought more clothes along)

(FYI..hayfever is part of the allergy trinity lai de..often associated with asthma and ezcema..if one person got asthma..very likely their family member might have asthma or ezcema or both.or hayfever...)

And finally something to look forward to, probably this Christmas holidays(first time I not spending Xmas with Pink Army..but I will try to bring back Cadbury Special Edition Xmas chocs back if it wont melt), we will be heading back to Brisbane to meet up with our housemates maybe and perhaps go for KTV together and maybe going to Gold Coast and Movieworld.(something which I wanted to go..but Gavin's not too enthu about it..cos he just went with his parents that time..but what's the point of going Gold Coast without going to the iconic Movieworld?).But I'm not too sure about the weather, going Movieworld in the heat of the summer...hmm..argh.the sunburn..

Farewell Dinner at Sizzler

2009-09-30T00:17:00.000+08:00

Farewell Lunch at Sizzler

Before we head back to Dalby, my housemates organised a farewell lunch for us..which is very nice of them..Apparently, Taiwan don have Sizzler, so we have to orientate our Taiwanese housemate, Shally abit. She is very impressed by Sizzler, cos she she says the other steaks she tried in Brisbane wasn't as nice as Sizzler's. (But really, Oz Sizzler's steaks really look nice and juicy)

I'm looking like a cooked prawn..my sunburn has spiral out of control..

Michelle and me..

Michelle, Shally, Gavin and Me posing for a group shot outside Sizzler at Hyperdome, Logan.

The night before we set off, the four of us even had a mini gathering in Michelle's room where we ate nacho chips, chocolate and drank beer..they even gave us a little card too which is quite unexpected and sweet esp they try to write in English. (Shally only learnt English for 4 months, and she managed to write one whole paragraph without any errors)..

Our landlord and landlady were also very nice, keep ask why we cant stay till Saturday (which is Mid Autumn festival) so that she can cook the meatballs and the salad that me and Gavin like to eat.

Yum Cha & Brisbane Festival

2009-09-29T02:11:00.000+08:00

Brisbane Festival

back track a bit ..There's a Brisbane Festival the weekend before we head back to Dalby..Gavin even got new specs made..and I heng heng got the free sunglasses (worth$150) leh..cos we use the coupon..

Yum Cha at Jin Man Lou.. faster go and eat...ulu dalby don even have decent Chinese food

Lots of street performance as part of the Brisbane Festival celebrations

Then we head to South Bank for the lifestyle markets Note the sunny weather..

..I'm now suffering the aftermath of our pak tor session.. i.e. sunburn...haiz..

The Day after the Sandstorm

2009-09-28T00:01:00.006+08:00

The Day after the Sandstorm

Brisbane experienced quite a bad sand storm last week..the whole sky was bright orange..At first I thought I over slept so much that it was almost evening le..lol..the air was very polluted and dry that my skin was painfully irritated. The whole house was also filled with a layer of orange sand too..end up spending the whole afternoon sweeping and cleaning up..sianz..

But nothing can dampen my mood to go shopping haha..the next day we head off to Gold Coast for a last shopping trip at Harbour Town before we head back to Dalby where Gavin starting his new job as a Compression Engineer. (where Dalby is real booorrrrriiinnggg).Luckily the sandstorm has cleared up already but the air is still quite dry..The car was covered in sand too..so we got a car wash on the way back..and the car wash owners really know how to earn money..there's even a 'sandstorm special'. It's only $5 for a maxi wash (usual price is 13.90 per wash)..but cheap things don come so easily de..the queue was so long..we practically sat inside the car for 45 mins for our turn..I even had the chance to take a little nap while waiting..lol

Taking pics during the car wash..hahah

Tuesday Pasta Day

2009-09-19T02:02:00.009+08:00

Tuesday 'Pasta Day' Creations

Tuesday has become me and Gavin's 'Pasta Day', so we been trying out different ways to cook pastas, we even bought wholemeal, spinach pasta to try out..
That's our best lasagna to date..

Made using this gigantic mushroom..

the week before.. Bacon and mushroom pasta

Cooking

2009-09-13T23:46:00.006+08:00

Cooking
Burger sandwich with hash brown

Lasagna with portebello mushrooms in white wine tomato sauce

Honey Banana Muffin

Sweet Soy Chicken Stir Fry with Multi Coloured Veges

Bridge to Brisbane 2009

2009-09-01T00:17:00.008+08:00

Bridge to Brisbane 2009
30 August 2009

Bridge to Brisbane is the annual fun run event in Brisbane to raise funds for the Heart Foundation where at least 40,000 people will running across the Brisbane area

Gavin and me signed up for our very 1st volunteer attempt (so unlike us hor..but everything got its 1st time de lah..)...Surprisingly, there are alot of volunteers from all walks from life, and a lot of Asians too..

I thought we will be doing like you know, handing out drinks to those tired marathon runners ah..timing and stuff like that..but end up we were allocated to the fruit tent, where I cut up giant watermelons ...to give out to the finished participants..This is the 1st time I cut so many watermelons in a row and in record speed as well..its actually very stress-busting too leh..haha

These people already completed their marathon..we are just on our way to the Volunteer Tent

We have our own volunteer cap and shirt too..we now wear the cap out together for our daily walk (very healthy leh..we now easily can walk 5km every day)

We sort of made our escape after an hour's plus..haha (by right we signed up to do 3 hours lah)..but my hands already got blisters and Gavin's back is struggling with picking up the giant watermelons for the entire time..

Then we walked around the event, end up got two bags of goodies packs back...haha..got mags, sample sachets of alot of weird stuff for eg meal replacement smoothies..and environmentally friendly water bottles..Gavin's particularly happy about getting all the goodies...lol..

I think its quite fun actually..but me and think one time will be enough, me and Gavin were thinking about joining the fun run itself next year..

National Day Steamboat

2009-08-20T23:18:00.004+08:00

National Day Celebration (9 August 2009)
Steamboat Session with Housemates

Our house mates and us has been talking about having a steamboat session for the whole winter,and finally on National Day we are eating one...its also our landlady's birthday coincidentally too..so its considered a double celebration ba..

First time I'm having steamboat with so many veges...the two giant plates of salad that the landlady made is so yummy, we cleared the whole plates within the first half hour of the steamboat session and the meatballs too..specially marinated with plum juice..very special..

My housemates..Yating and Shally on the left from Taiwan and Michelle on the right from Shanghai

Its the landlord on the left, his daughter and our latest housemate Anna whose from Hong Kong on the right..who ate around 10 meatballs..lol (she has now gone to a island to work..very high)

Group photo..

The girls...

Baking Time

2009-08-19T15:15:00.000+08:00

Baking Time

Traditional Lemon Cake..baked this as Gavin's Birthday Cake..but not too pretty..but taste very nice ok..very lemony taste and fluffy cake..all my housemates all tried it too..

Been using the oven a lot lately..mainly the winter is quite cold..so don really feel like standing in the kitchen in the chilly evening preparing dinner..so I prepare in the afternoon where its much warmer..then pop in the oven during dinner time...Meat pie and winter veges

My 1st attempt at making Lasagna..San Remo pasta sheets really made a difference to the texture..but a bit too meaty le..next time mix with more vege like mushrooms..but overall quite nice leh...very hearty food for winter..

Chocolate muffins baking away with the tray I bought at Gold Coast.really high quality tray..din even stick abit..Look nice only..not sweet de..abit failure despite using Betty Crocker products..

Gavin Birthday and Ekka 2009 Part 3

2009-08-18T15:33:00.000+08:00

Gavin's 27th Birthday
(7 Aug 2009)
Celebration at Ekka 2009 Part 3Then it became evening very fast le...it's only around 5 pm and it's very windy and cold ..

Ah..the giant soft toys...din manage to win one one though..the piglet is
very cute..

The classic rides..

Finally, it's the end of the day..we sat in the stadium to watch the stunt shows and the fireworks...its too dark to take any more pictures...there are motorcycles and utes doing flips and stuff like that..

Ekka 's great fun..next year I want to go again..

Gavin Birthday and Ekka 2009 part 2

2009-08-17T15:34:00.001+08:00

Ekka 2009 Part 2
Gavin's 27th Birthday Celebration
I like this stall..so country feel..

There's even a quilt competition..

This is the winning quilt..very complicated design..don know spend how much time doing..

I like this one..

Then there is the Brisbane Markets Agricultural Pavillion..

very impressive...the panels behind are all made up of fruits

so many oranges..its so yi li yi li..heng I never go too near it..

It's made up of apples to celebrate Queensland 15oth Birthday... how wasteful..

Giant Pumpkin Contest Winner

Overview of the Yogo Alley (the rides section)

Little Miracles Newborn Corner- they have 'live' giving birth session of the lambs de leh...

Gavin Birthday and Ekka Part 1

2009-08-14T12:14:00.027+08:00

7 Aug 2009

Gavin's 27th Birthday Celebration at Ekka 2009 Part 1

Its Gavin's 27th birthday..so we went to the Ekka..which is the Royal Brisbane Show. It's like the event of the year..they even have a Public holiday for the Ekka.

First stop..the Woolsworth Food Pavillion..which is basically a food fair..with lots of food and wine tastings.. .
There's lots of chilli sauces...I like the mango chilli jam.. The choc dipped strawberries are so cute..but its damn expensive...its $8 bucks per stick..

There's Honey popcorn..and honey beer..honey lipbalm..

This inflatable cow is so cute..the winter day is now very quite warm le..almost 25 deg..but at night can drop to below 10..

At the Showbag Pavillion.. haha...my favourite place of...the school kids can even come here on excursion leh...so xing fu...they buy so many showsbags...I pity the parents though..on how much they need to let the kids spend.. I like the Hello Kitty and Sesame Street showbag..but the stuff inside are too childish le...end up I got a Marie Claire Showbag..$20..but the stuff is worth over $100...I even got a Maybelline Mascara free..cos I got the coupon..the mascara already cost almost $20 le..so glad with my purchase.. we even went back a second time..we got the coca cola cooler bag and Super Snack Bag

Cadbury showbag station..

Time for tea break ..Ah..the iconic Dagwood Dog..a giant sausage in deep fried crust...very yummy..

My Belated 26th Birthday Celebration Part 2

2009-06-27T15:00:00.017+08:00

My Belated 26th Birthday Celebration Part 2

Harbourtown shoppingThen we head to Harbour Town for shopping..my ideal birthday celebration..lol..(my face starting to look a bit weird.., I just caught the winter flu bug!) argh..hate the flu and cough..but anyway this is a really nice place to shop..there are so many famous brand factory outlet stores..one day is not enough..(Gavin's parents spent two days when they came to visit..I think my big sis would probably need three..lol)

It's really a shopping ADVENTURE..I have my map with me..marked out the stores that I wanted to go..very organised this time..lol

hahaha..my favourite store Valleygirl is on SALE!..haha..I think I spent like 1.5 hours inside..tried like over 20 pieces of clothing..(oh..Gavin went straight to the Tourism Lounge and took a nap there..hahah)

There are so many outlet stores, there's even Polo Ralph and such...I shopped until very high..lol..It's the end of financial year sale EOFYS(pronounced as eee--oo..first)..lots of stuff are going at 50%, 70% off..some are 50% off the marked sale price...

Luckily I control the urge to buy more.. bought a few items..and they are real cheap..all less than $10 due to the sale..I was struggling whether to buy the pink satin party dress or the dangling lace dress..but then I have no occasion to wear to..so bo bian I put back into the rack..

...I even bought a muffin tray! haha..cheap wat.$5 for a good quality bakeware leh..I can bake my muffins and cupcakes very soon..when I recover from my flu..just went to the local TCM store for my chesty cough today.. the TCM doc say I 着凉, got 气管炎.

It's my first time brewing the Chinese herbs from scratch..I can only say its a very complicated process. There's the 1st soak and boil and then you need to strain the herbs and boil another round then combine the two together. and of cos the terminology we always see in Chinese movie, the 3碗水煮成1碗水 that sort of stuff..

hope the cough go away asap..

My Belated Birthday Celebration Part 1

2009-06-27T14:35:00.013+08:00

My Belated 26th Birthday Celebration Part 1
Gold Coast (Labrador Park & Harbour Town)

We did not managed to celebrate on the actual day cos the whole weekend was raining..its impossible to go out..the only thing we did is buy drive through KFC and ate Original Recipe fried chicken and large chips..lol

We went to another part of Gold Coast for a simple birthday celebration on the following Thursday when the weather finally cleared up..My idea of simple is lunch then shopping, shopping and more shopping..hahaha..we first went to this Labrador place, which is somewhere north of Surfers Paradise for lunch.

Phototaking...the weather quite cold..around 13 to 15 deg ba..

Lots of pelican and other birds behind us..they will gather around you and wait for you to throw food at them..

then Lunch..this place called Charis Seafood comes highly recommended by my housemate..for its tasty and huge serving of fish and chips....its quite famous in Gold Coast...its a place that sells both fresh and cooked seafood...whenever I go any seaside location, I will always go the Best Fish & Chips in town..this one got award leh..good..my next stop shall be the best fish and chips award winner in Brisbane...the Aust Prime Minister Kevin Rudd always go and buy one..call The Fishmonger's Wife

really very huge serving..the seafood platter only $14.50.. the calamari rings are so big..

Photo taking before we leave for our next destination..Harbour Town

More and more Cooking

2009-06-22T21:21:00.009+08:00

More and More Cooking

The winter evenings are very cold and often raining, so we have been cooking more at home. Gavin's been very supportive of my food adventures, often driving out to get those ingredients that we need at the nearby asian grocery stores..so our pantry now is very compact..lol..these are a couple of dishes we made over a couple of occasions..

White wine and basil lamb stew for the cold winter night (supposedly to be red wine according to the recipe, but only have white wine..but turns out ok leh) .. then, chicken curry noodles for another freezing evening...hot sia..

chicken and ham baked rice one the left, baked alfredo pasta on the right..
pork wonton soup with scallop soup (boiled using chicken bones and dried scallop)..the wontons gavin made are all so are out of shape..hahha..

Greenfest 2009

2009-06-10T13:41:00.001+08:00

GREENFEST 2009

Its the long weekend..so we head out to the City Botanic Gardens for a very high calibre festival..Greenfest ,,its all about like creative energy ideas like wind energy, solar energy, new ideas to win the race against climate change. There are also other stalls that are very high calibre as well, like against animal cruelty, battery farming and organic and fair trade food..

The botanic garden is certainly a charmer, I guess it would look very pretty in spring with all the flowers...winter is too gloomy to enjoy..but I think it does look abit like Central Park in New York where they usually film those romantic comedies..

There's the Save the Whales stuff, some stalls are all for fundraising..but some are just to create awareness..some are using the Greenfest to get people to sign up petitions for some of their campaigns..

The only thing that interests Gavin in the whole show is this Telsa car..made by the world famous electric car company..

Got a tree seedling to support against climate change from one of the stalls but I forgot to bring it back..hahah

The new 3Rs with love..

they re-uphosltered these old chairs with very cute materials like packaging or posters..

I love this logo...I'm very tempted to get the tshirt with the same logo..

Mini Cooper is fuel efficient too!

ahhh...Din know such a lovely treat can come in a organic way...

ah ha,,this is interesting..(they sell takoyaki balls only lah..)

a stall against battery farming...I took a look at the pics ...quite sad..to be trapped in the small area for their whole life..I did signed a petition with them to raise funds..along with some other stalls like the RSPCA..

Its Sunday, so most of the shops in the city are closed..but Krispy Kreme is not!..haha
First time here, heard alot of good reviews from those who went US and try it before..and true to their words, it really taste good.. the shop is very cute too..

gavin's stone face from walking too much...lol

They even have a combo..we got the double doughnut and milkshake combo.its around $7 here...taste great..but real fattening...

but i guess its ok...once in a while only...me enjoying my milkshake..

I'm planning to go for a picnic in one of the parklands here when the weather is more sunny..

Sunnybank

2009-06-08T16:32:00.000+08:00

The place we are currently renting..much better than the 'Du lan"-della place..its a newly built house.. its a suburb at Sunnybank..where its a Chinese area..so there are lots of asian shops around..

We are becoming regulars at this place soon..they serve quite authentic Chinese food here,, like char kway teow, nasi lemak and bak kut teh that sort of stuff in VERY HUGE portions..

Thats the chinese supermarket..they really sell all things asian..they even got those drinks that has those Taiwanese celebrity faces on it..(P.S: wyn, i saw one drink that has SHE face on it)

There's a Little Singapore..

A Little Hongkong..apparently by the same boss..

and a little Taipei too..

even a chinese dessert shop...but don taste thaaaaatttt fantastic though...

even a Sanrio giftstore..lots of Hello Kitty inside..hahah...

jigsaw

2009-06-07T14:12:00.000+08:00

JIGSAW PUZZLE 1st June 2009
Its the 1st day of winter ...so we did something very "wintery"..stay home!..hahaha..its all rainy and cold outside..so we thought we complete the jigsaw puzzle we bought long ago..almost 1 year plus ago..but never had the chance to complete it until now.. we completed this long ago though...gavin's mum brought it here when she was here visiting..

Gavin doing the puzzle...very frustrated by the almost identical jigsaw pieces..

so we cheated a bit..hahah..by labeling the jigsaw pieces..

and it proved to be very useful...last piece already

Completed puzzle! yeah...

More Cooking

2009-06-03T18:24:00.002+08:00

More Cooking

Steamed Soy Chicken with ginger n spring onions and stir fry tomatoes and egg

And grilled chicken wings with fried rice...yes..i do love my chicken wings

Garlic and Basil Grilled Chicken Wings

2009-06-01T13:52:00.003+08:00

Dinner

Been feeling very enthu about cooking more interesting dishes recently after reading a popular food blog http://www.mykitch3n.blogspot.com/ I,m gonna try some of the recipes soon..

...so I whipped up Garlic and Basil Grilled Chicken Wings yesterday. The chicken wings were practically marinated for 3 or 4 days..popped them into the fridge and I almost forgot about it.Btw, the basil is home grown leh..freshly picked from the garden..

Gav even comment the chicken wings taste like those sold outside..haha...but also remind me not to ''big head''..lol..

PIzza Bread

2009-05-31T10:37:00.003+08:00

Homemade Pizza Bread

Ever since our new housemates moved in, they were baking all their food (cos they don know how to cook,so baking is a more foolproof way for them)..then they were baking this sausage and cheese bread rolls, I tried it and it was real good with the freshly baked cheese..

so me and gav has been eating quite a lot of different versions of the pizza bread recently (cos bread is so cheap here, those very fancy French bread rolls we only got it like 55c for one giant loaf.lol) ... yesterday trial was the best...very easy to make too...

First, spread some pasta sauce over sliced bread, then add some diced onion, capsicum, tomato, ham..and then grate lots of cheese over it..and bake at 180 deg C for 10 mins or so..until the cheese melt and turn golden..and voila...homemade pizza bread...yummy...

Westend

2009-05-30T13:24:00.006+08:00

Westend Weekend Trip

This weekend we finally took some pics when we go out..we actually went to alot of shopping places around Brisbane recently but we din take any pics becos those places are not too "touristy" enough to take pics..

We actually went to this Logan Hyperdome yesterday where it was REALLY HUGE..there's like Myers, Big W, Kmart, Woolies and Coles among other stores..(all the giant stores like Walmart that kind) and there's one Piazza where all the big brand restaurants and fastfood are there..and beside there is a Home Center just across the road..and there are still big outlet stores surrounding the hyperdome..there are alot of outlet stores along the way too..like Adult mega store..haha...butcher megastore..seafood outlet..music outlet..lingerie...bridal outlet.furniture..anything u can think of there IS A OUTLET store...its pretty amazing...

We are planning a second trip to see the outlet stores..next time..maybe we take some pics the next time..

Okay..so its the weekend...we went to this Sushi Station for the lunch buffet at Westend (somewhere near Southbank..the place where we went to the Buddha Birthday Festival ($15 per pax..but the std is just so so..)..and then walk around the whole alfresco area where there are alot of small interesting shops like antique stores,second hand books and alot of fashion and unique household furnishings stores..where obviously Gavin is not interested at all..he merely waited outside in a bored daze while I browsed thorough the shops...

I like the pillars of the building...so cute

I came across this cupcake shop..and...its so cute..the interior decor is so girlish...they even have Miss Piggy cupcakes..so cute! http://www.thecupcakeparlour.com.au/ u can see the link for it...I was so tempted to have tea inside..but we just had a buffet lunch...I definitely coming back the next time for the cupcakes... and each cupcake is only $3 each..(in brisbane $3 only buy a bottle of Coke i think...so its pretty cheap already)

(the two pics above are from the website...I "borrowed" it cos I feel too paisei to go inside and take any pics when I am not buying anything from them today..haha

now i have the temptation to bake my own cupcakes now..haha...

Landlord from Hell

2009-05-29T14:49:00.003+08:00

Landlord from Hell

backtrack abit...I always wanted to blog about the last place we rented..but was always too angry and disgusted to be reminded about this landlord...since i have moved to this new place..where I am much happier..i think its time...

we rented this place for a month...without inspecting the place 1st..we saw it on the Internet ad and since the pics look ok..and the rental rate looks fair enough...we called the landlord..and he was okay to hold the room for us for two weeks without charging any rent until we move in...we tot we strike a great deal...

BUT..on the day when we moved in...the nightmare begins...

we had a long contract listing of NOT to dos..cant wash the car..can take showers for more than 4 mins...(due to Qld water restriction..but 4 min shower leh..i don even feel clean after showering for 4 mins lor)..then internet is only 1 GB per month..save lights n water tt kind of thing..no food in room...anything u violate..is charge extra tt kind...(the rental here are usually very relax..they don even care u bring food in ..or on the lights the whole night)

the cabinets, fridges are all carefully labeled..accordingly to items and usage...there are rules and WARNINGS sign printed by the landlord all over the house...like ''DO NOT PUT HOT PANS ON THE STOVE..or u will pay for the damages" etc...lots of rules all over the house...there even a complete HOUSE RULE pasted on the wall..

there are nasty house meetings where we were threatened to be kicked out immediately if we break any of his rules...knocking on the door to remind u of this and that...always very minor things...which is highly irritating...the ultimatum came when he told me to empty the rubbish bin... (its a practise for tenants to clean up the household on a rotating basis..) but i knew we were eating out the whole week (cos he SPY us cook and eat..which is highly uncomfortable.) and obviously there is no rubbish..I refused him straight away..its all his junk food rubbish what..why i must clear for him...he no hands meh...

the real ultimatum came when he knocked on our door like 4 times at 12 am and issued us with a warning letter..cos we hanged our damp towels in our room...OMG...really very crap...he even shined his torchlight from our windows from outside the house..to check on us...my blood really went boiling...

He is such a weird pycho...he should be a prison officer i think...he even charged rent and issued them receipts to his step children..and the step children are just like tenants..have their own allocated cabinets and stuff and cook their own dinner..I din even know they were related until I heard they called the landlady Mom..imagine our shock..hahah

we merely stayed for one month..the moment the contract ended..we wanted out..the room din even look like that from the pics...this is what it looks like..the pic looks like taken from 10 years ago lo or highly photoshop...

and u know what..the suburb we live in is call DOOLANDELLA...then me n gavin made a joke out of it...live there really will be DOO LAN...(dulan)..wahaha...

and the worst part..we din really do our homework thoroughly enuf..we checked the location only...the place has good transport to the city and shopping centers ...but it was a Vietnamese area...all the shops are very run down written with Vietnamese words all over..that we can understand ...even the local library carry Vietnamese books...one of the shops even had a explosion..luckily we din go to the mall on that day...

the month we stayed there its always raining..and the day we moved out....there's a double rainbow in the sky...what a indication..now we moved to SUNNYBANK (and its really very sunny hahah)at the same rental price..haha..

i shall do a part two of the new place we staying soon..hahha

Buddha Birthday Festival

2009-05-04T11:15:00.008+08:00

South Bank 3 May 2009

Buddha Birthday Festival

Went past the Musuem to get a shot of the giant dinosaurs 1st...

I think the Buddha Birthday Festival (i think is Vesak Day Festival ba..) was part of the Queensland 150 Birthday celebrations..Headed to South Bank on Sunday for the Buddha Birthday Festival.. I din know there was this ritual called the Bathing Buddha Ritual..but Gavin says he do it every year..so since there's one in Brisbane..so off we went..

But by the time we reached there,we were hungry and the food stalls were just right beside us..it was so hard for us to eliminate all evil thoughts when we are doing the ritual..haha... It's the first time I went for the bathing buddha rituals..(so religious sia)..

Its funny a lot of angmohs went there too..but I don think they went for the religious stuff ba..there are alot of foodstalls outside..so most likely they went for the food..lolPing An Teng Lots of vegetarian foodstalls..nice view ah..under the Wheel of Brisbane..
Angmohs performing Kungfu..I think its damn funny lah..

3rd Anniversary

2009-04-26T10:17:00.000+08:00

3rd Anniversary
Gold Coast Trip

SURFERS PARADISE!!!! FINALLY!

As part of our 3rd Anniversary celebrations, we went to Gold Coast! Yeah!!

okie..we din go on the actual day but it doesnt really matter...we spent the actual day gorging ourselves at Sizzler...shhhhh..hahha

we used the car rental gift voucher and we got a really posh black car with the alot of gadgets inside..but we were so busy playing with the gadgets that we forgot to take a pic..and u know..we only paid $6.60 for the administrative charges for renting the car ( the premium category for $6.60 leh)..the car was so bulky that we had such a hard time finding a parking lot...

Queen of Surfers Paradise!

The famous Hard Rock Cafe..

Then we went to Haunted House..but I was quite freaked out by the entrance already..so we din buy the tickets to go for the tour..haha..but we did buy a beer bottle holder.lol
We stopped taking photos after this cos we went to Harbour Town and spent the rest of the day there..It was such a huge shopping factory outlet store that I only managed to conquer only like 10% of the stores....Anyone who visiting Gold Coast should really schedule one whole day just to Harbour Town.

oh we head back to Surfers Paradise for dinner.and there's the markets at the beach too..lots of quirky stuff..

Then we went to Conrad Jupiter Casino where we play Roulette...I won the 1st time I placed a $.250 bet...hahah...but end up losing all the winnings...wahaha

Gold Coast is really fun...cant wait to go back again.

Updated blog skin

2009-03-10T13:00:00.004+08:00

Got a new blogskin as the old one went bonkers...
I think it's really nice...all shoes.got my faves mary janes and converse sneakers..which I absolutely love..

Going to update the links and stuff some other time...gtg...BYE!

I planted a tree.

2009-02-17T11:24:00.001+08:00

Did something good for the environment today.

Valentine’s Day 2009

2009-02-16T12:04:00.000+08:00

Valentine’s Day 2009

Dalby has been experiencing some very bad thunderstorms these couple of days, hence we have to keep our Vday celebration a simple affair. We merely exchanged cards (that's the best we can get here) and I made some salad and sandwiches..very picnic feel again..

The salad was really too much...

2009-02-16T10:06:00.000+08:00

Brisbane & Sunshine Coast Trip
Post Trip

3D2N is really not enough to cover Brisbane..I din even get to shop much. We spent too much time getting lost. Brisbane roads are quite messy and loads of time, you cant make any turns or U turns if you miss a spot..gotta turn one big round. Luckily, our housemates lent us their GPS (and we still got lost even we got the GPS..lol)

Then back home, I’m sorting out the tourist leaflets…and I realise I got so much of them. Take a look. I just ‘collected’ them whenever I visit a tourist information stop. No wonder Gavin’s so disgusted with my brochures..haha
My next aim: Gold Coast! I already got the brochures ready!

Brisbane & Sunshine Coast Trip Day 3

2009-02-13T10:03:00.000+08:00

Brisbane & Sunshine Coast Trip
27 Jan to 29 Jan 2009
DAY 3

South Bank
Just opposite Brisbane CBD

Wheel of Brisbane

Griffin University

Nepalese Pagoda..the wood carvings are so intricate.

QUT right across the river, I think that’s where my 2nd sister studied last time.

Queensland Musuem

Some exbihits are really impressive even though it’s free entry. I was almost expecting to see some boring pictures and displays. Even those who are not museum fans should go take a look.

I particularly liked the Musuem Zoo, some animals can really get real huge…

Lunch at The Three Monkeys. Great ambience for couples and groups. The cake is great too. I will definitely recommend to anyone who’s going to Brisbane. Budget eats with nice ambience.

Direct Factory Outlet- Retail Therapy Time!LOL.Gavin bought me a Roxy summer dress and two small bags. Time to head back for Dalby, arrgh..I wish I can stay longer.

Brisbane & Sunshine Coast Trip Day 2

2009-02-12T10:03:00.000+08:00

Brisbane & Sunshine Coast Trip
27 Jan to 29 Jan 2009
DAY 2

Set off for Sunshine Coast

Glasshouse Mountains Lookout We saw this along the way. How suay is that car plate? The Peanut Van, Ettamogah Pub and Aussie World Fish and chips for lunch by the harbour. Standard. Lol
At Moololaba Harbour. The people living there actually have their yacht parked outside their house. Wow. Now, that’s LUXURY.

Underwater World.

Then to The Big Pineapple.

The Pineapple is really BIG. There’s even a mini-museum inside.

Brisbane & Sunshine Coast Trip day 1

2009-02-07T10:01:00.000+08:00

Brisbane & Sunshine Coast Trip
27 Jan to 29 Jan 2009
DAY 1

As part of CNY celebrations, Gavin and I went to Brisbane and Sunshine Coast for a 3D2N trip. It was very nice of Gavin to sponsor the whole trip..I merely paid our lunch and that’s it.

Warrego Wines. As usual, we bought a wine. A very sweet white wine.

After 3 hours drive, we finally reached! Brisbane CBD..the parking rates are exorbitant. We parked for 1.5 hours and it’s already $31 bucks. We even checked out 3 parking places before parking. I’m horrified. I cant even stayed longer for some city shopping. How did the Brisbane people survive?

The tired face..haha..from three hours of non-stop driving.

Lunch at Little Singapore

Our 999th Day Anniversary Celebration Part 4

2009-02-05T09:59:00.000+08:00

Our 999th Day Anniversary Celebration Part 4
19 January 2009
Toowoomba Day Trip

Dinner
Anyway, time to head home. We din managed to get a wine from the winery, so we just went to a wine drive-through (yes, it’s the wine version of mac drive through ..haha) to get one.

A Houghton White Classic. (We missed the Houghton winery the other time in Perth, hence we tried out this) It was quite good actually, but of course not as good as the John Kosovich one which sadly reminds me how the custom officer threw the wine away right in front of my face.

I made this dinner myself! Wahaha.
Panfry Pork Cutlets and Tuscan sasuage served with sweet potato thins and green spinach salad greens (the salad yucks..so bitter) with french dressing.

Gift Exchange Time

Haha..I got a red polo t-shirt for the ban dang guy.
It does complement his car plate number (GAV888)..hahha..more eights!
Just in time for CNY too.

Our 999th Anniversary Certificate that I made myself. (The intended fabric certificate holder project failed miserably; hence I just gave up and bought a frame instead.lol)

The celebration was a great success, even though the park’s barren and the winery closed, but I still think it was the best so far, considering I got a bunch of flower buds on our 100th Day Celebration, 1st Anniverary I got ‘Dear, I din get anything for you leh, you mind anot’, 2nd Anniversary, we were basically in cold war and we were both in different countries.

I guess an anniversary celebration doesn’t require fancy restaurants and expensive gifts everytime..my picnic and home made dinner made this anniversary make it very special for us too.

Looking forward to our 3rd Anniversary this April.

Our 999th Day Anniversary Celebration Part 3

2009-02-04T09:54:00.005+08:00

Our 999th Day Anniversary Celebration Part 3
19 January 2009
Toowoomba Day Trip

Cobb+Co Museum

It’s a museum that houses the National Carriage collection. It’s like seeing Australia on the move 100 years ago.

Windmill. It’s so pretty.

And a cute vintage Beetle.

I’m in Toowoomba!

It’s the kids play ground I’m right now. Luckily there are no other kids around. What I can say is Gavin is somewhat disgusted. Haha.

Argh..real animal skin. What a horrible way to die.

The Mega Fauna Section.

There are some prehistoric giants that actually roamed Toowoomba 1.8 million years ago.

The display animals are the interactive kind, it sorts of move when you moved past them. Which freaks me out. Haha.

I almost tot it will stand up and bite off my hand or something. I was quite freaked out by this one. How will I know how interactive it is?

I’m an archaeologist! It’s really real dinosaur bone. Not fake replica leh.

Chinese New Year Chu Qi Dinner

2009-02-03T10:06:00.007+08:00

Chinese New Year 2009

Chu Qi (Ren Ri) Dinner

I made Hainanese Chicken Rice..not bad sia...si mo si yang..haha..

Reunion Dinner

2009-01-26T16:16:00.002+08:00

Chinese New Year Celebrations 2009
Year of the Ox
Moo…

Reunion Dinner

Getting the Chinese New Year ingredients was really quite a task, considering Dalby is a boring small town, but NEVER MIND. There’s always room for creativity.Haha

CHUN! We got mini spring rolls (luckily, the supermarket have some frozen Chinese foodstuff).. Nian Nian You Yu! The fish here is really CMI. So, how about some fish and chips in Oz Style? Lol

WANG LAI! Pineapple Rice (the pineapple bowl took me ages to create it!) I’m so proud of myself..wahha

This lunch took me over 2 hours plus to prepare..gosh…now I understand why my dad used to wake up like 7 am to prepare reunion dinner stuff..

And last of all, wishing everyone

‘NIU’ ZHUAN QIAN KUN
FOR A BETTER YEAR AHEAD!
HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!
GONG XI FA CAI!

Our 999th Day Anniversary Celebration Part 2

2009-01-19T17:04:00.007+08:00

Our 999th Day Anniversary Celebration Part 2
19 January 2009
Toowoomba Day Trip

Next stop: Picnic Point Lookout. It’s so much better, It’s such a great place for a picnic. (FYI, I loved picnics though I hate the outdoors.). We ended up choosing a great spot for a picnic lunch with a great view.

My imprinted sandwiches again, this time is thai sweet chilli salmon that I made from canned salmon.

The view is panoramic. It’s the Lockyer View and the Tabletop Mountain over there. The mountain got some volcanic origin according to the leaflet.

All thanks to the panoramic setting of my camera and a couple of photography tips that I got when I was reading a photography magazine the other day.

Hey’s that’s Singapore! I’m 6056km away from home man..

Then we went to Preston Peak Wines. The views are even better and the air is so refreshing. But it’s quite a dangerous drive (even though I’m not driving) because the roads are meandering and going uphill one second and downhill the next.

The winery is a gold level wine producer and has won over 150 wine awards. I was so looking forward to the wine tasting. I was hoping to get a wine from there, for our dinner celebration that evening. Ahh..but we went on the wrong day. It was their closed day..they only open for like 3 days a week.

But never mind, the view’s magnificent.

Our 999th Day Anniversary Celebration Part 1

2009-01-19T16:58:00.001+08:00

Our 999th Day Anniversary Celebration Part 1
19 January 2009
Toowoomba Day Trip

We headed east of Dalby to Toowoomba (the biggest inland city in Queensland) for a mini- road trip. (An impromptu decision made like 6 hours before the trip, I hardly have time to plan where to go).

Toowoomba has a title of Queensland’s Garden City. There’s lots of parks here and even has a Japanese Garden (Oz’ biggest). There are the modern bigger malls (for shopping of course) that I like and the old country charm like the local wineries and produce that I can enjoy too.

First stop, we went to State Rose Garden. I felt the tourist spot was a bit overrated based on the tourist guide I was reading. I think it’s because there are not much roses for this season of the year.

Then, to the Visitor Information Centre. I enjoy collecting the brochures to make my travel scrapbook next time, Gavin thinks it’s bulky but it’s usually these brochures that saved the day cos they always have more detailed maps. So, while I’m ‘shopping’ for my brochures, he will merely sit in a nearby bench and stare into space. Lol

Dalby Town

2009-01-05T16:45:00.003+08:00

Dalby Town
So Dalby is a small town in the inland of Queensland. U know, rural charm, with rich pastoral heritage, that’s just a nicer word of boring in my context. It’s a grain and cotton district with up-coming mining and energy suppliers.

The whole town is pretty much like what you see in the picture. There’s a mall here though, which houses a supermarket, some cafes and a Big W (Something like a Kmart). There are no proper restaurants if you want to dine here, all they have is pubs and fastfood.

I didn’t ever think Harvey Norman would look like this.

There’s XXXX Gold Beer signs everywhere here. It’s like the Tiger beer in Qld.
There are donut cakes here, so cute. I shall get one for my kid next time. Haha.

OZ Trip 2009

2009-01-04T16:25:00.003+08:00

OZ Trip 2009

Departure on Jan 3 from Singapore

My parents even took the time to send me off, just in case my luggage was over stuffed and they have to take it home. The funny thing is that I sent them off to the sky train place first (it’s a bit confusing though with all the signs) before getting to the Departure gate myself.

Changi Airport is still all about the Xmas mood at that time.

I’m so tempted to get this Absolute Vodka.

Qantas Flight experience
Surviving the 7 hour flight was a tedious task by itself. Partly, it was raining (so the plane was in constant turbulence, I hardly can catch any sleep) and hence it’s very cold. I only brought my beloved Adidas jacket and it’s wasn’t enough to provide any much needed warmth.
By the time I requested another blanket, it was too late. I already caught a cold. I think my sneezes had brought a lot of grunts and looks from other passengers on board. Lol

Arrival on Jan 4 6 a.m. at Brisbane International Airport

Clearing the customs was another tedious task too. I almost ticked every box for every type of items that needs to be declared. The customs officer immediately shoved me to the ‘Long List’ queue after seeing my arrival card. Lol

After the flight, I need to take an Airbus to the city to catch another 3 hour bus (something like our Grassland bus). The bus got delayed by an hour. I was so bushed that I dozed off while waiting for the bus. By the time Gavin picked me up, I almost looked like a zombie. (Luckily I wore my big sunglasses and perked my face up with lip gloss and powder…The magic of makeup!) It was another hour’s drive to his house from the bus station. Gosh.

Gruelling. Almost 15 hours to get to see him.

Packing for AUSTRALIA trip

2009-01-03T15:48:00.002+08:00

Packing for AUSTRALIA trip

It's about a hour later before I set off to the airport...

Packing the luggage was a very very very tedious process, considering I am going for quite a while ( 3 months) ..end up I bought so much facial creams,medication in bulk (it's much more expensive there) and I intend to bring all.So the 20kg luggage limit isn't too much for me..

I even brought a lot more clothes, the last time I went Perth, I realised I was wearing the same 4-5 dresses thoroughout (my former colleague even point that out). This time round, I brought more, for my Gold coast trip, daily sleepwear (I don want to wash my laundry almost everyday, cos I only brought two sets that time), for CNY celebrations too...

My dad even asked me ''跑路啊''...hahaha....I really brought alot ...but ok la...half of the stuff will be gone when I come back..since it's mostly creams and food stuff..

haha..my friend juat said qantas allow max 25 kg..I'm going to put one more jar of cream back..wahahah

Brisbane, Gold Coast HERE I COME!!!!!

Happy 2009

2009-01-01T00:00:00.001+08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

All the best for everyone in 2009!

Pink Christmas Eve Party Group Photos 2008

2008-12-30T12:34:00.004+08:00

Pink Christmas Eve Party 2008
Group Photos

Note the word formation..

Miss Tng, this photo we're supposed to bite the cupcake..not smile leh...

Pink Christmas Eve Party 2008 Part 3

2008-12-26T20:38:00.002+08:00

Pink Christmas Eve Party 2008

Part 3: Countdown & Gift Exchange

Punishment for the girl who arrived ONE MINUTE before countdown LOL(We were supposed to meet at 8.30 pm lo..)

Countdown to Christmas 2008!

Party Popper Time!..we did a Kallang wave with the party poppers..FUN!We cleared the whole box ok..lol 72 pcs . And look at the mess of the table.Lol

PINK ARMY CUPCAKES.HOW CUTE IS THAT..Fengjiao's artwork.. It's way way better than the log cakes we used to get.

The gift exchange name tags I printed out for the occasion. Useful ok..

It was Huixia who got the gift I bought. Pink passport leather holder. Functional with a touch of pink. She does look happy with the gift rite..

Huijun with my picnic bag mini gift

Wyn with her ''name tag''
I got Fengjiao's pink makeup kit. There's bling bling face powder, BB cream and a pink puff.

Mini Gifts from the rest of the Pinkies, everything is to my liking this year. there were alot of personalised and thoughtful gifts this year that I really appreciate.

I can use the pillbox from see tien(I eat alot of vits everyday), I can use the foot spray from huixia (cos I like to wear super high heels ..comes in handy), coaster from huijun for my cup of tea every evening, Oreo cookie mirror from wyn, earrings from fengjiao (accessory when I go out), photo frame from peisze (great when I go QLD soon), magnets from Moreen (great for my magnetic board that I often use). Thanks Pinkies

The Christmas Cards. Got Pink panther pink Christmas card from Huixia...

Pink Snowman Pic of myself..cute..(from Fengjiao)

This year Christmas party is one of the best in recent years. (though we miss JLB's presence, we tried calling but no one picked up) I think it was good cos there were alot of hiccups for the planning part of it. (Over-budget problems, location problems), but in the end, all went well. Very well in fact.

There were also alot of thoughtful gifts this year too. Though it was nothing too expensive, but there was a lot of effort and shopping done for most of the gifts.

Let's look forward to a great party next year!

Pink Christmas Eve Party 2008 Part 2

2008-12-26T19:38:00.001+08:00

Pink Christmas Eve Party 2008

Part 2:KTV session

Next we went to a small but new enough KTV lounge near New Majestic Hotel for our KTV Session. ( I think it was more of a photo-taking session)

Christmas Butterly hats and wand...Santa Caps too

Christmas 2008- Pink Army Cele Part 1

2008-12-26T18:39:00.000+08:00

Pink Christmas Eve Party 2008

Part 1: The Dinner

Christmas Dinner was a simple event at Billy Bombers, Central. The milkshake there taste great. More photos to come from other cameras..

Pink Christmas Eve Party 2008 Pre Party

2008-12-25T16:48:00.017+08:00

Pink Christmas Eve Party 2008
Pre-Party Preparations

Mini gifts for Pinkies

Cute packaging rite..so picnic-like.

Post cards card for Pinkies..The font is cute rite..

Printed it off a post card template.. Handmade handphone straps with their initials..Exchange Gift from Pageone.

Accessory for the night...handmade necklace with a giant crystal bow.

Handmade Card for Gavin

2008-12-25T16:39:00.010+08:00

Christmas Cheer for Gavin

Pop Up Card

Since I'm going to meet Gavin in Qld soon, it's really make not much sense to send over a bulky gift (and spend alot on express postage) like what I did previous years. So I made a classic (not simple/bo sim/hand draw ok) pop up card (all thanks to wikihow) and a small gift to show a little christmas cheer to the guy who's still working shift on Christmas. But I think I sent it a little too late. Lol. Luckily he didn't mind.

Sick Cookie this time

2008-12-22T11:43:00.005+08:00

Cookie's HGE Scare

On Saturday evening..Cookie was down with HGE. Hemorrhagic gastroenteritis (HGE) is a canine disease characterized by sudden vomiting and bloody diarrhoea.

It's like the canine version of stomach flu..but for animals...they go into dehydration and thickening blood much faster than humans..so must be treated asap.

We thought it was just a normal diarrhoea..until it became to look quite bad..So, we rushed him to the vet and but it was just a bad day...there were no taxi in sight, call cab I was on call waiting, then call the clinic (8.30 close) to ask them to be last patient also never picked up..then when we finally flagged down a cab, the cab driver drove the wrong route and was horribly slow..and need to stop with every red light.

By the time we reached the clinic, we managed to be the last patient...but need to be charged $90 for OT consultation..(normal price: $35) ..

This vet wasn't too kind to Cookie too, quite rough with him..luckily my cookie high calibre..never even make a sound when got two huge injections..now have to go through fasting too..

Now Cookie is recovering quite well. Feeding the medication is the worst thing..he got 6 tablets and 1 syrup to eat 3 times a day..I got many scratches and threatening bites from him from feeding the medicine..I still need to pound the medicine into powder..and disinfect his sleeping area many times a day.....slave to my dog

Cookie is now a SLIM DOG ok...got waist already. He lost 3 kg in over a week. around 25% of his original weight..so impressive.I think he will get even slimmer soon.Lol

My Injuried Cookie

2008-12-19T17:17:00.005+08:00

Injuried Cookie Cookie recently has alot of muscle strains problems with his leg..two weeks earlier is hind leg..this time front leg...

He's super kua zhang, he went on a 3 day fasting (animal's natural response when sick)..only drink water and virtually hibernate for 3 whole days. He look as if he's dying any moment that kind...but I know already...don let him fooled again.

And I become his vet too ( that time groomer)...haha...self medicate ...I bought a $2 Daiso elastic band...then apply tiger balm for him everyday...and make him shine the infrared machine every night...

Now's he's alright already, but I kept the bandage on, just in case. The bandage has brought about a lot of stares when I walk him..all thought I abused or something..haha

Jusco Trip

2008-12-14T23:51:00.018+08:00

JB Again- This time to Jusco

Went Jb again..the customs again was horrible...i queued for 90 mins and

The queue was HORRIBLE..
1.The queues were so undefined cos a lot of couples stand side by side and mislead the people behind. cant they stand single file?..they can stand single file to queue at the sg customs but forget totally how to queue at the malaysia customs.

2. There were two teen girls behind me..using loudspeaker and singing..actually ktv at citisquare is very cheap only..cant they go sing when they reach there? It's not 校园superstar leh..
I don really mind if their singing is good..but it's just way too off. They were cursing away as if they were super cool that kind. How pathetic.

3.Then our queues got cut again and again by alot of fully mummified people..They cut queues with strategy de leh..so professional...I wonder where their teachings has gone to...

BUT all the misery was put to an end once I reached Jusco. It's my 1st time to Jusco..it's like a megamall type of thing...very similar to Jurong Point.

Had lunch at Nando's..I din expect to see Nando's in malaysia..I used to have them in Perth..where I find the spicy chilli sauce very tasty...one of the fav restaurants with my classmates as well..But it just din taste just as nice...cos my must-have peri peri chips were out of stock that day..

The 血拼姐妹花..my sis and me...bought so much stuff...Cos there's the Mango Sale...lol..it's even cheaper than SG Mango Sale..alot of fellow singaporeans were there too...I even msg wyn want to get the leather bag anot..but reception was very poor..it was so hard to get the msg sent out..
Leather belt from mango..

My 1st pair of Mango heels..love the shape of the heel...

Then went into the organic market at Jusco...and found this liquid bentonite. Has been reading about the great raves in the detox book that I was reading earlier..so I decided to get one.

Accordingly, Bentonite is a natural clay mineral of volcanic origin, created from volcanic ash deposits that are millions of years old. It provides strong detoxification in the digestive tract, with the ability to bind herbicides, viruses and other potentially harmful substances by adsorbent action. Bentonite's mechanism of action is physical, due to its colloidal structure and charged particles, which allow it to bind with toxins in the stomach, small intestine and colon.

Tried it for couple of days..not much taste...felt like I drinking cornstarch solution..

OF COS, how can I forget the comfort food..Dunkin Donuts..hahaha..

Donut is a cute word....Since I got Cookie already, I can consider my future dogs be called brownie, donut, waffle, muffin or pancake..haha...all dessert or confectionary names..

Summit Bag...

magazine again...I broke the mirror inside the free gift...bad luck..bad luck...jialat...

My sis is a shoe fanatic..she currently own more than 60 pairs...and had occupied my share of the shoe cabinet..I have 4 rows t myself initially...now i only have 2..

She bought 3 pairs of shoes from Summit until can renew membership and get a super gold recycling bag back...So bling..lol..btw, 2 pairs of the 3 are same design but in different colour.

Her mango sale 血拼 has not ended after buying 2 tshirts and a bag from there..Accordingly to what she msg me over msn..she heading to the marina square outlet with her friend this evening to check out....to see whether the black heels that I got has any stock in her shoe size anot.

New Jurong Point Extention Night Adventure

2008-12-11T14:19:00.006+08:00

New Jurong Point Extention Night Adventure

Yesterday night, I was accompanying my sis to pay her credit card bill at 11 plus...cos it was going to be overdue at 12mn. I was actually quite reluctant, cos I already taken my shower, lathered on all my big list of lotions and serums and all ready for bed..

In the end, I still went with her..

So we went to the SAM Machine, got it done and eh...realised the new extention was already all up and quite a few people are window shopping there..there are already some people sitting at Starbucks, sipping their coffee away..

One guy who went past us was talking to his friend on the phone was like ''Eh, the jurong point extention open liao lor...so er xin...it's freaking huge''

Lol..

Pics of my night adventure..

the exterior...

cute rite...giant table lamps..in pink and white..so girlish..

this shop got a stairway u need to go up before you get into the restaurant..lol...i tot it was crazy to take a pic at 12 mn...when the shop is still spookingly dark..I was so scared that I would capture something else..haha

the extention...it's just one part only..there's another block behind it..but not ready yet..

lots of bigger brand restaurants below.

I think there's really not much reason for me to go town next time..there is really lots of shops lo...500 over...

DIY Pet Grooming

2008-12-10T14:49:00.000+08:00

DIY Pet Grooming -Second Attempt

After Cookie's pet shop membership expired, and after Jurong Point Pet Station moved to the basement, Cookie cant go anywhere for his grooming anymore.

Cos Cookie don know how to take the escalator down to B1, he don't allow us to carry him anymore. We cant touch his head, face, eyes, ears or legs. Only can touch his back. And he always turn around and show you his butt before you can touch him. Sian 1/2

We cant get him on a cab too, cos need to carry him up the cab. Plus he will get carsick (like owner lol).

In the end, no choice, I need to 亲自动手. The 1st attempt was already quite good, except Cookie look like a mouse than a dog. It was such a turn-off to see a fat ''mouse'' wagging his tail first thing in the morning for the past couple of months.

Now the second attempt, voila...turn out great...(of cos, i took 2 hours and two hotdogs to get the job done) and I need to coax him like crazy to let me cut the hair off his face and legs..

End product: not bad rite..saved 65 bucks too..(the pic, he look abit depressed, but he always like that when he takes pictures.)

Hari Raya-My Curry Pok Day

2008-12-08T23:57:00.001+08:00

Hari Raya Haji = Curry Pok Day

Since going out on Hari Raya would be a human traffic jam affair, so my sis and I stayed home to make some curry pok. (Don like to say curry puff, a curry pok is a curry pok, not curry puff)

AND IT TURNED OUT GREAT! Haha...the ingredients were so 丰富 that there was more chicken and eggs than potatoes in each one..lol.

Okie lah, we cheated abit, we bought puff pastry from the supermarket. Making dough from scratch is just too plain ''flour-y''.

Today being a public holiday, I also cooked dinner today to let my parents have their ''off day'' so I made dinner too. Not bad leh, 4 dish one soup. Got two veges, black pepper chicken, chilli sotong and bitter gourd soup.

Organic Bread Baking Attempt

2008-12-08T22:50:00.000+08:00

Organic Bread Baking Attempt

If you have read my previous post, you would know I'm all crazy for organic stuff now, so I bought this from Vivomart (Abit boliao to get a pack of breadmix of all things).

However, it was a big FLOP. I wasted half a dozen of eggs and I climbed the ladder to take the mixing machine down from the topshelf. I took 45mins to prepare, almost 90 mins of baking and I washed up like crazy.

AND the bread looks like I pressed my four fingers on top of it and it wasn't even cooked on the inside. What a waste of my time.

Stretching the Buck Steals

2008-12-08T21:51:00.010+08:00

Stretching the Buck Steals

My bi-monthly stretching the buck steals is to go JB! Lol. I usually go there like every 8 weeks or so to stock up my facial products, which are like 50% cheaper for the same thing. Since I'm buying so much, it really makes a huge difference on my pocket.

Last Saturday, I went there. Forgetting it was a long weekend, and alot of people would be going there too. In the end, I was stuck at the Malaysia Customs for 1.5 hours. And the worst thing, I was at the wrong queue, a newbie was there to check so thoroughly that the queue slowed dao like half compared to the other lines. The crowd was the busiest I ever seen, in the end, 4 most custom clearance points opened up and finally eased the queues. I was almost fainting with hunger. It was 4 pm when I had lunch. Horrible.

But NEVER MIND, as long I get to do my shopping.

Cleo Malaysia Version (RM 5.60). It's only S$2.30! HAHA.

This is my 1st time buying a Malaysia version magazine cos I thought it would be irrelevant to our Singaporean lifestyle. After reading it, I would say the standard is very OK (I'm a avid magazine reader ever since I was young), the articles are very detailed and well written too. And it's really thick for a magazine like Cleo, almost twice as thick as the Singapore version.

So Twice the volume at Half the price!

Ray Magazine, Chinese Version of the Japanese Magazine.

A must-buy whenever I go JB, cos it's only RM$8.And they have all sorts of clothes, ascessories, bags from high end luxury brands to budget spree items..

I usually buy the other mag call Vivi, call it has a special feature on Ayumi Hamasaki each month, but it's sold out already.

SHOES, SHOES, SHOES...

How can one miss the shoes when you go City Plaza? Though I cannot beat the Pink Army record Moreen, Huijun and me made, we bought 15 pairs of shoes together and purchase enough to get 2 member cards. I bought 3 myself last weekend.
Vincci Simple Black Heels
RM $29.50 (plus 10% credit card rebate) ---- S$11

Vincci Exotic Gold and Brown Flats

RM $49.90 (plus 20% storewide + 10% CC rebate)---S$23.88

Vincci Red Ballet Flats

RM $19.50 ( plus 10% CC rebate)---S$9.20

I already locked my ''vision'' to another pair of 10 cm high killer heels..I going to get it another time I'm going. LOL

Home Made ''Lemonade''

2008-12-08T19:00:00.000+08:00

Home Made ''Lime-ade''

Don have lemons, so cant make lemonade, so made lime-ade instead. Lol

But it taste refreshing too. Healthy too, made with organic honey.

I'm trying to go more organic after reading a book call The Tao of Detox recently. I din know so much (or care) about importance of the food acidity before that. Din know some professor actually already researched in 1931 that eating too much acidic food (eg, chicken, eggs, starchy and sugar and dairy products) will cause toxemia and in turn cause cell damage and in the end, forming cancers..and had actually won an Nobel Prize for it. But no one ever took notice of his findings and in the end, so many people have died and still dying of cancers today.

Alot of people used say, it's incorrect to eat fruits after dinner, but they never explain why. Now I know. Cos by the time the food starts digesting the meat and rice you have eaten, alot of acid forming stuff has already been in your stomach, the fruit that has been sitting inside the stomach is not digested at all, and in the presence of acid, it starts to ferment (like how beer is made) and cause lots of bulky gases and the vitamins are all lost. So making the healthy thing that you are eating becoming an unhealthy thing to do.

So, after reading the book, I have been on a simple detox plan for the past few weeks and I realise my skin allergies really improved by leaps and bounds that previous specialists medicine couldn't do a thing about and I am very happy with the results. Even my sinus problem seem to be better.

Now, I drink organic teas everyday (like green tea,anti-acid tea, all normal supermarket brands but organic). I used to drink green tea once a day, but now I incorporate other teas into other times of the day.I also stay away from processed foods like cookies (except for my Cookie..) and dairy products.

My family has also been ''motivated'' by me to start their own mini detox,

I ''made'' them drink multi-veg juice that I juiced every alternate day. They thought I going super ''niao'', cos I don mix citrus juice or fruits with my meals anymore.

Healthy sia...LOL

Salmon Sushi + Wasabi + Chips???

2008-12-07T14:49:00.000+08:00

Salmon Sushi + Wasabi + Chips???

Saw this at NTUC, i couldn't resist but I bought it back home to try.
I 'm a fan of salmon sushi. I loved potato chips too. Lol. Will try it out soon. Give you my review later.

Bread Pudding

2008-10-09T15:09:00.002+08:00

Yesterday, I tried baking a bread pudding. The end results is not bad, better than I expected,just that it's a bit too sweet. Should reduce the amount of sugar next time and sprinkle some raisins to make it nicer.

Floral Gift

2008-09-30T13:36:00.003+08:00

Received roses from Gavin today...Very happy, I loved flowers.. Though I cant really smell, touch them due to my whole lot of allergies, but I just like the feeling of receiving flowers..

HOWEVER....

Seems like Cookie is more excited about the flowers..he was jumping in ecstasy when the delivery guy was passing me the flowers. And he leaning near the table to smell the flowers for the past 30 mins..he must have tot it's edible...haha

Some background info:He loved red coloured stuff ever since he was a puppy (he's a male dog FYI). His bowl, blanket, leash are all red. He also loved pink and lacy stuff. Those very feminine stuff. He's eyeing my lacy teddy bear for months.

there he is..
some more...

and more...

Now the bouquet is safe from him, in case he eats it and destroy my bouquet.

Gavin's New Carplate

2008-09-30T13:32:00.004+08:00

Gavin recently bought a new car, so in order to complete his ''1st lao po'', I suggested to him to get a personalised car plate. The previous car plate was full of 4...how suay is that..

Of cos the whole planning decision is done by me. I choose the words (Being the traditional Chinese, 888 is of cos very good..haha), colour and the plate design.

Very satisfied with the overall result.

My Birthday Present

2008-06-21T19:29:00.002+08:00

My favourtite flowers..gerberas..so cute..

My Birthday Celebration

2008-06-20T16:48:00.006+08:00

Pink Army Full Strength!

14 people in all (with all the boyfriends included)

OMG I'm turning 25....(quarter life crisis)

Thanks for the cake that has ''egg shells''

Thanks for the comedic contribution below too...

Thanks Pinkies for this celebration!

It's almost like a party..the birthday song was abit overwhelming for our age though, but I appreciated your efforts and courage. Lol

House Mates Reunion

2008-06-20T16:31:00.002+08:00

Finally , some housemate reunion time! They are my two housemates during my first year in Perth. I still remember on my 22nd birthday (I had the worst exam on that evening- Transport Phenomena) they walked 1 hr in the cold winter to get me comfort food (Pizza Haven I still rem) for my birthday. They even got me a very very cute brown teddy bear from Myers(the bear is still in my room now). I rememebered how touched I was at that time, (you know, alone in an overseas country, AND YET having a terrible exam on my birthday) My birthdays were usually holiday periods...

Din know the day I met them, it was just like yesterday. We talked and chat about everything. Had a great Korean BBQ meal too. They bought me such a big present.I was quite taken back cos I din expect them to spend so much for a reunion present. I merely chose two Escada Love shaped minitature perfumes for them and some nougats from the earlier day trip.

How nice of them rite...A 100ml Marc Jacobs fragrance, it seems lovely too. Best of all, I like the design very much. (Thanks Ancky and Yoyo)
We tried going for a ktv session like we used to go at Utopia. but apparently the rooms were all filled, we waited almost one hour in the cold but still no space. So end up, we only got some cute pastry and headed home. (The cute girly face bread was quite popular, and there are GUYS buying it as well..lol)

It was a great reunion session, hope to get to see them again soon.

More City Pics

2008-06-12T18:09:00.007+08:00

My crazy Vits buys

2008-06-12T18:03:00.003+08:00

I bought EIGHT GIANT JARS. I think there are over 2000 tablets altogether..

Da Vinci Exhibition

2008-06-12T16:44:00.011+08:00

1st June is Foundation Day in Perth. It's a public holiday, so not much places are open..so decide to schedule this exhibition that is part of the Winter Arts Festival on this day.

Fine weather... Yes..that mass of black is me..
The tickets.

Haha..I should have put my face nearer..
Mona Lisa
The pulley system was actually devised by Leonardo...no wonder he pulled down my Science grades during PSLE.

The Vitruvian Man

The bicycle was in his one of his drawings too..din know..

City of Florence..where Leonardo Da Vinci was born.
His famous works..The Last Supper

I think I spent two hours in the exhibition, then walked over to the Swan Bell Area.

Swan Bell Tower, one of the largest musical instruments on earth.

Time to make my way home.. went passed Saint George's Cathedral, so stopped by to take a picture.

Kings Park

2008-06-11T23:40:00.011+08:00

These are the kangaroos statues in the city..snapped them along the way to Kings Park

Kings Park is a only a short drive from the city. In fact, their buses are free travel within the city..it's almost equivalent, you want to go from Far East to Plaza Sing..you can hop on any bus and it's free.And they even have special buses call CAT that travel from stop to stop around the city whole day FOC. How nice..if only SMRT and SBS could do that too.

The imported bottle trees that quite a few Singaporeans are crazy about..
They are called Boabs, giants of the North.

My picnic lunch..the sandwich says '' Good Morning'' So cute..arrr..It's made from a bread mould that I bought in Freo earlier. I think the bread mould is for kids, but I don really care. They have ''I Love U'' , '' Good Morning'' and ''Smile''. They have one that speaks ''Hallelujah'' too..

Fremantle on Sunday Part 3

2008-06-11T19:26:00.013+08:00

I think it's a church but I don know the name. Nice shot though..

To the Fremantle markets. Apparently, the street performer threw his stuff so high that it blocked my picture.
Finally, someone different. if not it is always the pirate who swallowed his sword.

House of Magnets

The crepe place is quite well received too.

Time to go home.It's 5 pm. All the shops are closed.

Haha..as usual. cant resist but snapped down this one.
This in fact is a very famous real estate agent in Australia. Just the name is so...hahahah...

Fremantle on Sunday Part 2

2008-06-11T01:10:00.008+08:00

After which, I walked over to the Freo streets, and end up walking in circles cos I couldn't find the Fremantle Markets. So again, photo-snapping in the process again.

University of Notre Dame..I wonder is there any people studying in it anot.

Town Hall.

What a tourist..(but yes, I do love Perth)

This knife set is so cute...

Time for some BOOST juice.. the staff are so friendly and lively.

Unlike the ones I met at Vivo, Aussie Boost staff are quite usually cute looking as well.

Got myself a Mango Magic with THREE add in boosters (so kua zhang) LOL Energiser & Protector & Vita Booster..what a nutrient-packed drink.

Fremantle Visitor Center. Being a 'true tourist' I couldn't miss not going in. But it was closed and heavily locked with thick chains.

That's where my university name came from. Curtin.

Fremantle on Sunday Part 1

2008-06-09T23:11:00.022+08:00

I took the eco way of getting toFremantle..I parked the car at the Transperth train station near my place. The whole train journey took around 45 mins.

Fremantle, also called Freo to most Aussies. A must go for Perth tourists.

FYI: It's located on the west coast of Australia, situated at the mouth of the Swan River 20km down stream from Perth , the State capital of Western Australia. It lies next to the waters of the Indian ocean

Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour

Cicerello's Seafood Restaurant on the water at Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour for their famous fish and chips.

My fish and chips. I ordered another serve of spicy fried squid as well.
Taste just as nice. The way I liked them.
The big anchor at the side of the restaurant.

Time for dessert! I got myself a German Cake flavoured one. And it's only a kid's cone. Cant imagine how big the double scoop would look like.

Northbridge and Subiaco

2008-06-09T22:41:00.006+08:00

It was a Saturday, so most shops are closed.I have to do some of my own grocery shopping to tide over the weekend and some of the rainy days that I most prob need to stay in.

I went to Northbridge's Joy Garden for dimsum first. It was such a cold morning that I just want to stay in and sleep. But then, I am on tour, I cant simply waste my time sleeping away. So i got out of bed for my Brunch. And on my way to the train station after my heavy meal, I saw this.

Interesting. Lol. What the...

After which, took the train to Subiaco for some cheap and fresh grocery. And of cos for my supply of Vit C. Lots of fruits. Been a while I went grocery shopping at this place. Reminds me the times when I used to go there when I was a student there. It's a perfectly thing to do when you are overseas. You see students buying groceries at supermarkets and markets all the time.

City Friday Late Night Shopping

2008-06-09T18:51:00.010+08:00

After my giant meat ball pasta lunch, which I think was quite tasty. I tried cooking pasta in SG before, but no ones in my family appreciate.

I headed to the city for some late night shopping. Aussie shops usually close around 5 pm everyday except Thursday(for shopping centers) and Fridays (City) until 9pm, but usually the shops are closed like say 8 pm.

Dinner Time. My favourite Samurai Special A Set. It's a small eatery at the corner of the city but it serves very nice yet affordable Japanese fare, a hidden treasure I would say.

I always think of franchising it..hahaha

Then next to the Australian Gift Shop. For the 1st time I'm a tourist in Perth, I finally find it ok to go inside such tourist shops. I never been to such shops when I was a student there. I find it quite silly for a student to go into a tourist shop at that time..

Cute magnets ah...

White koala!