from 2 to 3

my swarovski order has changed as of yesterday. from 2 items, it has now become three. can i blame my cousin for this? hahaha...of course not. i am the one who does the clicking myself.

so so so......these are what i got.

this huge cocktail ring is my very first choice. i did not even doubt the choice. it is a MUST HAVE! i hope it looks are pearly and gorgeous when it comes.

next one, this necklace.

has been searching for some time for long dangling necklace. like all the small crystal drops along the chain. instant update to a plain blouse.

and this last ring. it was deleted from my initial list. but when yeelin wrote saying she wanted to order a ring too, i could not help adding this to the list because it was only 14.50 euro.
it is quite cute right?? i just hope it won't get dirty easily.
so this is the end of my swarovski order. NO MORE!

this weekend....

it is raining and the sky is gloomy. the temperature is low and it is best to hit the bed and catch a forty wink. but NOOOOOOO!!! the birds decide it is time hone their singing skills and compete to see who can chirp the longest and the loudest!!

and that is how i end up sitting in front of the computer on a slow sunday afternoon.
i have been tossing around for 1 hour but all i could hear were the chirps and chirps and more chirps. i wish i could be in my brother's position now. he is sleeping on the double decker bed beside this desk i am typing on.

so the lesson- don't sleep in your room in the afternoon. move to your brother's where it is quieter. but that only applies in the afternoon. because in the morning, the birds will come to his room instead of mine. well, it is a fair world.

now let's move to food....weekend does not usually equate to food, but somehow this one does.

went to ipoh on friday to watch toy story 3 and i really enjoyed it. the story was so touching especially at the end and of course my trip was made more fun since i did not even have to pay a cent. it was sort of an early birthday celebration from quin to me. so thank you for the movie and meals.

had dinner at sushi king and we were both filled to the brim. i think that is the case usually when you go to a japanese restaurant because the food displayed is usually so attractive that you can't stop ordering when you look at the menu. only when all the food arrives do you realise how small your stomach has become.

another box of sushi take-away??? nope, it is donashi from big apple donut. donuts in sushi like appearance. every piece of donashi has different filling inside. i love the ones with chocolate filling as they are not as creamy as the other fillings. only dad and i are fans, so naturally i ate a lot.

saturday- more carbs.
a kid from kalumpang bought more than ten paus with char siew filling from a popular stall in the small sleep town. i first read about the pau from the newspaper during the hulu selangor by-election time. his mom paid for the paus. the famous filling is not this one but vegetable curry. unfortunately, they were all sold out and only this was left. other fillings include red bean and kaya. the dough is not bad as they do not get stuck in your teeth. dad told me to give the skin to beanie but i told him it was my favourite part instead and i hentam the whole thing. dirty? not so lah.

that was tea. now supper which happened to be at 11p.m. while the football match between uruguay and south korea was taking place on tv1.
mom helped wei to tapau this packet of hokkien style noodles from leung kei when she went out to eat with her friends. and i of course being the good sister who would not let my brother put on 2 extra inches on his waist helped him to finish a quarter of the packet. ;P one plate of noodles there has increased to rm8 now. expensive. even the cook's sister complains about the portion being served. so if you want to get bigger portion, go early before 7.30 when the sister will cook instead.

i finished watching the match with wei and both of us were disappointed that korea lost. we are going to root for another asian team- japan. the hope is still there.

today- no picture of food because when i thought of taking the picture, i realised there is no more left to take. it is supposed to be apam balik. yummy. tough on the outside and soft on the inside.

so i have this to show instead:
grandpa having his hair cut. wei specially fetched the indian barber from his shop to come to our house because it will be inconvenient for grandpa to go there. grandpa is getting more feeble in his movements. he is reaching 90 soon. you pay rm8 for the cut at the shop. here, the barber charges rm10. reasonable lah. i think grandpa added a few more ringgits as tips for him. it will be another 3 months when the barber make his next visit to the house.

last but not least- will i be too narcissistic if i say let's countdown to my birthday now??? i can't help it. i have received by birthday present and birthday treat already.
and yesterday, a card arrived from my siblings and brother-in-law in australia. they always make their presence felt on my special day. thank you guys.
yes, a great reason to celebrate the coming of the double 3. it will be a year of doubles. i have 2 doubles in my birth date. i also have 1 set of double in my birth time. and i am turning double 3.



what song do you think is played when i opened the card?? click on the clip above and you will know.

what a weekend. hope this coming week will be smooth sailing as well despite all the workload and deadlines i have to meet. my head is organising and visualising my schedules. so far all that come are positive. no plan is failing in the head. always the optimist.

and by the way, someone asks, 'do you want a surprise birthday party or a planned one?' what would you answer if you were me?? i mean, is this the right question to ask in the first place? this definitely comes from amateur planners. well, my answer- just make me happy.

booohoooohooooo.......
i cried buckets again!!!!
no more dog tales but it is the season finale of glee season 1.

and the song?? click above- to sir with love, originally sung by lulu.
this is one of the meaningful oldies i love. heck, i love all oldies!!!

you won't be crying listening to that song, but you will definitely cry if you are a gleek (glee fan). the kids dedicated the song to their teacher to thank him for all that he had done. so touching.
mr schuelster, you are my hero and my role model. will i ever get that song??? (i wonder)

i will miss glee and i can't wait for the second season to start!!!

i want to live their dreams too and sing my heart out when i hear the song i love on the radio. but uhuk uhuk uhuk.....the throat will go dry very fast- can't even finish one song.

crystal alert

yes crystal alert!!!!!

swarovski has just started their online sale!!! i know they have just started because i have been checking every day for the past 2 weeks. hahaha.....

now you know where i get all my swarovskis and of course i don't have to pay retail price.

there are just too many beautiful pieces to choose from and some rational thinking needs to be brought in while making the final decision.

these are the necklaces and rings which i have shortlisted.

then compared and compared and compared and deliberated and rationalised.......

finally i only chose two pieces. which two do you think they are???

oh, aunt, if you are reading this, you know the parcel will reach your house soon. thank you.


alice in wonderland limited edition ring

athena blue fleur pendant on blue silk cord
seashell ring. is there a pearl in the shell??
simple gold chain holding pastel blue fish

this goes nicely with the ring above right?? long necklace

and gosh! what a huge cocktail ring but it will definitely steal the show.

long dangling necklace with small crystals

sosososososososososososos............................................can you guess which 2 i got?????
thank god for low euro exchange rate!!! yippeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!

my stomach is blessed

i am well-taken care of...and i count my blessing.
my stomach will not go hungry easily although i don't have much stock of food at home.

on friday, i will get 'special' breakfast set and it is always different every friday. thank you carmen.

this is today's:

mushroom soup

manukah honey to cure my sore throat and prevent whatever germs or virus that might attack.

breakfast box- dark chocolate, chocolate cake, vanilla cake and muesli bar. healthy and yummy.

and today at school.....rezeki lagi. a colleague is buying breakfast for everyone. menu- roti jala with chicken curry. so eat lah. don't reject the blessings. :P

and on monday night, these came:
hard-boiled egg, cucumber, prawn curry, anchovies sambal, crunchy fried anchovies and peanuts. also from a colleague although i told her i don't take nasi lemak. but she said never mind, i can still have the side dishes that come with the rice.

i am now full till lunch after that roti jala meal. am keeping the mushroom soup, chocolate cake and muesli bar for lunch and tea.

a robot kinda week

robot....that is what i have been this week.

i only realised this today when i mistakenly entered a class following yesterday's timetable.

how fast this week passes and tomorrow is friday.

everyday for the past few days have been work from 7.30 till 1.10. really non-stop. one deadline came one after another.
then came back, changed and started class at from 3.30 to 5.30. next, jogging (well, only for monday this week). then shower and dinner. 7.30-9.30 class.
by that time, the battery was already at its lowest level, so back to the room, ironed the next day's clothes and sleep.
these were my days for the week. i think this state is going to last till the end of july. i hope i can get enough charge every night and start the day on full bar.

have to make sure my health is in shape. i just sneezed and can feel slight sore in the throat. will not take any chance- it is a teaspoon of honey after this to soothe the throat and to counter whatever sicknesses that might be at bay.

tonight is my day of rest. yippee!! but that only means no teaching but still a pile of books to mark.
tomorrow, i will be catching a movie in ipoh, most probably toy story 3.

on saturday, back to workplace for half-day course. then back to tm in the afternoon. classes from 4-6 and then 7.30 to 9.30.

want to hear about my sunday? classes from 10-12, 1-2 and back to bidor in the evening and it continues at 7.30-9.30.
then the whole circle starts again. what a life.

happy eating

this girl made mom a very happy cook. recorded at home in our kitchen on sunday.
the dishes on the table: wild boar curry, steamed minced pork, mixed vege and kwai fa meat (preserved sweet meat).
she was eating her 4th bowl of rice in the video. get a glimpse of grandma too in the video.

oh ben oh jerry

SLURP!!!! reading comments posted in facebook by ex-collegemates from canterbury christ church university college reminded me of my favourite ice-cream when i was there.

then i read blog entry by ladyverde about her eating ben n jerry's ice-cream in london makes me crave more for this ice-cream.

my favourite memory of eating the above ice-cream (yes, that particular flavour with marshmallow and caramel and chocolatey shaped fish) was when watching wimbledon's final 2001 in front of the tv in the living room alone. my only companion was ben and jerry. one whole tub!!! that's why i gained so much weight when i came back from england. there was just so much 'new' and exciting food to try.

it's so difficult to get ben and jerry in malaysia so whenever i go overseas and see one, i will not hesitate to buy the mini tub.

eat to feel full

ok anyone trying to lose weight???
good news...just found this online. go here to read more.

but to summarise, if you wanna make yourself eat less, so please eat these foods listed below because they will make you fuller, hence you will not get hungry so fast.

1. Potatoes (323% more satisfying than white bread)
2. Fish (225%)
3. Porridge/Oats/Oatmeal (209%)
4. Apples (197%) and Oranges (202%)
5. Wholewheat Pasta (188%)
6. Beef (176%)
7. Beans (168%)
8. Grapes (162%)
9. Wholemeal Bread (157%)
10. Popcorn (154%)

from the list, i am only eating apples and grapes. i don't think i like the ideas of eating more potatoes and beans. imagine the amount of air you will release and urrghh...the smell. LOL

i can accept porridge and fish....yummy fish porridge.
wholewheat pasta is sure a heavy one.
and oh my favourite bread....but have to make sure they are wholemeal now.

so you know what to choose the next time you go eating or shopping. good luck.

last part- guangzhou

ok guangzhou will not be a city i talk with fondness. i wonder whether it is because i had landed at the wrong time in this developed city. it was tuanwu festival on 16 june and the whole country was on holiday. so you can imagine the crowd lah everywhere i went.

another reason why i don't like guangzhou is its people. urrghhh!!! i have never met ruder ppl that those here. even those in hk give you service with a smile and are ok with conversation and questions. those in guangzhou serve you with poker face and their mouth is only programmed to give a maximum of 5 word utterances at one time. even the taxi driver refused to talk more. i hate this city!!!

the only positive thing about the city is how cheap clothes are....well, i am not talking about branded stuff here. i am talking about made in china clothes and they are really dirt cheap. where can you find blouses for rmb25?? polo t-shirt for rmb19?? no wonder we see people leaving guangzhou airport with overweight luggage and having to pay fine.

so we arrived on 15 june, night and took a cab from the airport to our hotel which is located at the end of beijing lu, a long pedestrian street. very very convenient indeed.

the hotel, or service apartment is grand continental. the bed is better here.

there is microwave oven too.

again, see-through bathroom.

we went out looking for some snacks and to check out beijing lu before calling it a night.
and we found these dumplings, curry fishball and gwai nin kou in coconut milk. don't like the coconut milk. the dumplings were only so-so. not a good meal.
beijing lu.
they have instant lottery kiosk and we also tried one. very easy, just scratch all the boxes on the card and see whether any match the small ones on the left hand side. well, we lost rmb5.

the next morning, it was a full day of sight-seeing in guangzhou. we walked till our feet could not take it anymore. and oh the air here....it was so humid that i could slice the air with a knife. well, better than rain though i guess.

dim sum at four season restaurant adjacent to the service apartment. yummy!! very delicious.
rmb150 and a teapot of pu er tea.

took the metro to yuexiu park. it was only rmb2 for a single journey on the metro. cheap hor???
we did not have to pay to enter the park but gosh, the crowd!!! they love their parks here.

walls left from ming dynasty era......if i remember correctly.

this is the attraction in the park. statue of the five ramses. can't remember its significance. they are the mascots of the soon to be held asian games in guangzhou too.
we paid rmb10 for a buggy ride all the way to the hill to see the statue. and boy, we were happy to pay that amount because it was uphill climb winding all the way from the entrance.

next, we decided to walk to sun-yatsen monument hall because the distance on the map was not that far. big mistake! it was damn far and we had to stop many times for directions. menyesal!!
rmb10 to enter the hall.



then we walked again to liurong road to see liurong temple. i think it is one of the oldest temples here. it means six banyan temple i think.


lunch time.....although i did not really feel hungry because of the hot and humid weather. i only wanted something cold.
we saw this shop on liurong road and there were many customers, so we entered too.
i ordered mix chee cheong fun. it was good. this meal costs me rmb9 only. cheap hor?

then walked again to metro station. decided to go to shamian island, an islet on the pearl river that runs through guangzhou city. the island is known for its colonial style architecture but unfortunately, many are under renovation. so you see more scaffoldings.
the bridge that will get you to the islet.

we saw many brides and grooms taking their bridal photos here. i think this is one of the popular places in guangzhou.

this island also has many bronze statues.



aaa...the kind of poses you can play with the statues. ;P

time to go to the next destination- shang jiu lu, a pedestrian street known for all its shops, mosty clothing stores. yes, this is the place for you to get cheap clothes and every store had sale!!! they were shouting their prices, crowd was so thick that you had to push and jostle and elbow your way in and out. what an experience.

and the place was also under renovation. scaffolding again. so inconvenient.

makan time and we chose their fast food restaurant called 'kungfu'.
they serve rice and chicken dishes and vege. the complete set above cost rmb62. there was a bowl of soup too. ain't bad. 4 of us shared the set above.

no more walking after the meal because we wanted to get to tianzi pier for a cruise on pearl river.
our ride cost rmb68 because it was a fully air-conditioned boat and they gave you a fruit platter as well. the ride took about 75 mins. the legs screamed thank you for the rest!
you can also pay rmb138 if you want buffet dinner included.

the different kinds of boats for the cruise. it is one of the more popular activities in the evening for tourists.
the end of all sight-seeing!!! was so glad to call it a night.
but needed to grab something to fill the stomach.
went to a char chaan teng, a chinese cafe basically and had instant noodles with bacon and ham and cheese sauce. not a big bowl, so ngam ngam before heading back to the hotel to pack.

oh what a trip. so scroll all the way down and till the next page to get all the photos on the complete trip to guilin too.

the end of my post for this week.

time to do another packing now- back to work on monday. haiz.......