Yummy brown rice porridge

After all the baking, I didn't feel like making shepherd's pie for lunch today. When Mom suggested cooking brown rice porridge, I was all for it. We put in lots of veggies and Mom wanted sausages, mushroom balls too.


Lunch was a wholesome meal and we had it with some nuts :)

Vegan cake

I tried this recipe for vegan chocolate cake and tweaked it as I had only a bit of cocoa powder left and mix with instant coffee powder. Mom said Dad likes coffee cake. This cake uses canola oil and white vinegar instead of butter and eggs.

I could only smell coffee when the cake was almost done. It didn't have the usual aroma of butter cakes. The cake texture is also softer, when I ate the cake yesterday, it really tasted healthy. Dad tried a bit and said he didn't know what he was eating. Sis said the cake wasn't sweet enough and she won't eat it again. This morning, Mom ate a piece and said it was not bad. I tried it too and it actually tasted much better. I could taste some sweetness and it helps that I have sprinkled lots of chocolate chips and macadamia nuts on top, so I'll be bringing some for my aunties, uncle and cousins to try later :)

Little Tigers @ home

Since it's the start of the Year of the Tiger, I mustn't forget our little Tigers, Angel and Bob.

Sis took some photos of Angel who looked disinterested.


Mom said Bob looks more like a tiger. Sis thinks he looks weird here. I think he's cute :)


He wanted my attention when I was using the PC just now.

Dressing up

Other than wedding dinners and when I'm in the mood, Chinese New Year is another occasion that I will bother to dress up and put on some makeup.

Sis took some photos of me doing so over the weekend :)


Putting on my lip gloss in the car and using the back of my handphone to see my reflection.


Lining my eyes


Rummaging through my pouch containing my creams and makeup stuff. I was in that awkward position as I was half blind and using the toilet seat cover to put my stuff.

I enjoy trying organic makeup. I have been using 100% pure lip gloss which smells fruity and recently I got Sante eyeliner to try. I feel more comfortable too using make-up with no/minimal chemicals, since I have been using organic/natural skin and hair care products for the past few years.

Chinese Reunion Dinner 2010

On Sat (Chinese New Year eve), my family and I had an early reunion dinner with our aunty, uncle and cousins @ Soup Restaurant @ City Square Mall @ 5.15pm. As usual, the first dish was the Yusheng. After the server said all the auspicious words and poured in the sauces, seasoning, etc, we tossed everything before tucking in.

The other dishes included the popular Samsui chicken and this time they included mayonnaise prawn, jellyfish and pork rib. The chicken with garlic sauce still tastes the best.

Baking pizza

I took leave yesterday to help mom to clean the house. I wanted to try making some pizza for our lunch. It was quite simple to do, based on this recipe, but the taste of the pizza is more like a pizza bread, rather than the aromatic thin pizza from Spizza and Timbre. I must try to find that recipe!

Anyway for my first time, I think it was quite a good attempt. Dad ate up 2 small ones. Sis ate the one I made for her without any veggie. Mom only had it this morning and it didn't taste as good as yesterday.

Beautifying my bag

My friend has made Happy Daisies for me and her other friends and surprised us by mailing them to us.

After trying the flower on my hair, my blouse and my bag, I decided that it looks best on my black bag :)

My "new" bags and wallet

Sis was going through her collection of bags and there were some that she decided to throw (as they were flaking) or give away to Salvation Army. I saw a few that she didn't intend to keep and I want them!

They are inexpensive bags but I like their design:

The bag is from this brand, Yin and Yang. I like its striking colours and it looks a bit retro.

Sis bought it from H&M store in Ginza last year. I was eyeing it too but since she bought it, I decided not to buy. How can I let it go when she doesn't want it anymore?

Sis got this Ripcurl from Australia a few years ago. I like the silvery pink colour.

I'm so happy to own these 3 bags. They are still in good condition. I'm just waiting to wear the clothes with the right colours to match with the bags.


My "new" wallet is this Mango wallet that Sis wanted to give away as the button stud on the left side is not working well. She also has other wallets. The black markings from the shape of the buttons look like nipples. Hee. I have been happily using the wallet everyday. It has enough space and compartments to hold all my cards, money, coins and house keys :) Too bad Sis is a size smaller than me or I could have taken over some of her clothes that she had packed yesterday for Salvation Army.

Bob is back home after 6 long weeks

My initial plan was to have Bob back, after my Perth holiday in end Dec, but when I found out that I had to attend the meeting in Brunei, I left Bob under Lingcat's good care for another few weeks. This afternoon, Dad and I went to Lingcat's place to collect Bob. It was either I didn't have enough rest or the weather was too hot, my dull headache became a throbbing one while I gave Bob a quick warm bath. I had to close the toilet door to prevent him from running out and the toilet quickly became a sauna. I felt a bit nauseous but tried to distract myself by cleaning Bob up, drying him and later drying up the toilet floor.

I quickly took a shower myself before closing Bob and I in my bedroom. Bob shared my pillow and we slept soundly for 2 hours before I woke up feeling hungry. I'm so glad the headache and nausea went away after the nap.

Looking forward to agood night's rest later with Bob :)

I'm one of the unique 10% :)

After all the hesitation about whether to go for lasik, the pre-lasik eye test on Thurs made the decision for me. I went through the various eye test - eye pressure, curvature, eye power, etc. The senior consultant @ SNEC told me my eyes are healthy but my cornea is too thin (480mm instead of the required minimum of 500mm) and I belong to the 10% population with thin cornea. I asked her if the current technology allows people with thin cornea to undergo lasik. She said yes but she won't recommend that as lasik will make my cornea even thinner and I will experience some problem down the road. After explaining, the doc put eye drops to dilate my pupils. A while later, a nurse dripped eye drops again before doc checked my retina and said it's healthy. The time spent @ SNEC from 1.30pm to before 3pm was surprisingly short as my friend who went there recently were there till 5+pm.

With blurry vision (I could see far but not near objects like price tags and menu), sis and I went to check out Trove @ Esplanade. I had to ask Sis how much was this and that. I can admire the clothes but I can't make out the words/numbers on the price tags. Hee. After trying a few clothes and leaving with them, we went to Max Brenner and I had to put the menu further away to look the ingredients for the various types of the hot chocolate. We spent our time there from 4+pm to 5+pm before slowly making our way home for home-cooked dinner. My vision was back to normal before 5pm. Oh well, I'll continue investing in spectacles and contact lens :)

Shopping in Brunei

My colleague and I managed to find a gem in the unspectacular shopping mall next to the hotel. The shop is called Hotwind and owned by a pair of sibling (brother and sister) and their female co-partner who also is the fashion consultant and was recommending clothes for us to try. She could figure out the clothes my colleague likes, as she is more adventurous in her dressing.

We had only a few pockets of 30 mins on Thurs and Fri in between meetings and meals to go to the shop 3 times to try the clothes and buy them. These are only about a third of what I had bought. I took a photo of them on Thur night :)

I can only wear most of them on weekends though. Some of them cost $10 to 15 each. A few are in the range of $20 to $30. The most expensive one was almost $100 as it was a reject from a brand. Importantly, I'm happy with them :)

Hotel room in Brunei

I was staying in Rizqun International Hotel. There were 2 queen size beds and the room was quite spacious.


On the first day as we were not involved in the informal meeting among the bosses, I was in my room, relaxing, check office emails and trying to do my Jap homework.


These were the shoes I brought to Brunei.


I had to squeeze clothes and toiletries (to last me from Tues till Sat morning) into this luggage and I brought along additional shopping bags.


The contact lens cases were really handy in carrying my creams and other essentials. I didn't bring any shower gel, so I had to use the hotel one which was not very good.


Around 4+pm, a hotel staff came around, giving plates of chocolates. It was timely as the flight meal was before noon and I was feeling hungry and dinner would only start @ 7.30pm.




I even made myself a cup of rosebud tea :)

In Brunei

I'm here to attend a meeting with my colleagues and bosses the next few days. This is my first time visiting Brunei.

We reached the hotel since 3pm and I managed to connect to the Internet with the help of the hotel staff. With my office laptop, I can check office emails, listen to my favorite songs/music and visit my favorite websites. I have also brought along my Jap homework but I'm not sure if I have time/discipline to do so.

Hope the meeting runs smoothly and I look forward to be home on Sat!

Angel's big face :)

The lovely photos taken by Sis:

Last day (30 Dec) in Perth

Joan's sis made me an omelette avocado to go with my toast. Joan drove me to a shopping mall at Joondalup. We checked out Target for the organic tops and panties. I got a set. Over at Coles supermarket, I got some macadamia nuts for mom and some rooibos tea for myself. We made a last stop at a pet supplies shop where I got some toys for Angel and Bob and a large size harness for Bob.

I had lunch at J.B.O'Reillys with Joan and her family for yummy fish and chips in a cone and refreshing lemon bitter before they sent me to the airport.

It was a relaxing trip in Perth and Joan and her family have been wonderful to make me feel at home. My future holidays will definitely include visits to Perth :)

Day 4 (29 Dec) in Perth

Joan's dad bought some scones for breakfast and we had them with cream, jam, rock melon and fruit juice.

That morning, Joan drove us down to Mundaring Hill. We asked the friendly ladies at the visitor centre to recommend us a short nature walk and they suggested Mundaring Weir. There I was at the start of our walk, already starting to swat at the flies. Hee. I forgot to mention earlier that Perth during summer is hot and dry. I would put on sunblock before going out and when under the sun, I would wear the hat Joan lent me.


This was our target.

We had to walk for about 10mins to get a clear view of the weir. Joan led the way.


Me at the viewing platform.

I was wearing a net over my head to keep the flies away from my face. Joan bought the useful nets and we find them useful or else we had to keep swatting the flies away. We did laugh at ourselves and each other as we were a funny sight. We looked like beekeepers. No one else we bumped at King's Park and the beach wore the net. I guess they are used to the flies. We didn't see anyone around the Mundaring Weir area.

My pair of Clarks sandals weren't exactly the most appropriate footwear for the gravelly walk. My feet did slide along the way but luckily I didn't fall.

Joan suggested that we took turns to climb up this big rock to take photos. I was very clumsy and had to crawl up the rock while Joan managed to get a good foothold and gracefully climbed up and down the rock.


At the end of the walk around 2.30pm, we were ready for lunch. We checked out the Mundaring Weir hotel and its kitchen was closed already. Along the way, we discover the dam at the other side of Mundaring Weir.


We drove to Kalamunda and Joan wanted to look for La Paris Brest, a patisserie, recommended in Lonely Planet guide book. We were lucky and managed to find it. The cafe looked inviting.



We shared a beef pie, chocolate croissant, lemon meringue tart and chocolate pear tart. All except the croissant were as good as they looked.

I had a pot of organic green tea.

We went to Gooseberry Hill and could get a nice faraway view of the city.

We saw some houses along the way and we were amazed by the steep small road to get to a few of the houses. It was like 70-80 degrees angle!


We took the scenic zig zag road and saw some tyre track marks made by some crazy/daredevil drivers. We could stop the car along the side to admire the view and take photos :)


We checked out a few shops/supermarkets operated by Chinese before meeting Joan's family for Vietnamese dinner.


We watched Sherlock Holmes movie at 9.20pm. It's not the best movie I have watched so far. It pales in comparison to Avatar but I was curious after hearing reviews. Overall, it was quite entertaining.