2008 :: What a year!!

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Honestly yea, i bet practically ALL (active) blogs out there are about what 2008 has been like, New Year's resolutions and so on and so forth...

Yea so I'll jump on the bandwagon and reminisce about 2008 and what it meant for me...

I was thinking about this in the shower this morning..."What have I done in 2008?" and I realised...I have done HEAPS! (<-- dats my other fav/overused word)

Lets see....

January 08
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Arr.....nothing too significant I can remember...

February 08
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DITTO - hah, so much for "Done HEAPS!"

March 08
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Ok, so pick up is a lil slow alright! Oh yea, I ended a 3yr relationship and moved back home...it was time to move on in my life...

April 08
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Bought a new PARPIE!!

My Princezz Zara, who's all grown up now. Still as hyper as ever and still bullies Chino, but still extremely Lovable! Chino, being the typical aloof male that he is, loves Zara nonetheless. He is quite protective of her too. He'll be right by her side to check on her whenever she makes a peep...and would share his toys and food with her. Chino is such a "gentleman". He would let her have her meal and sit patiently behind her until she's had her fill and then have his turn.

* Snuggling *

Oh, oh! I also applied for the Aussie Adventure travelogue programme online and got selected to be one of the Aussie Ambassadors (for Canberra). Yes, I blogged about it in here.

Aussie Adventure press conference at Sri Pentas.

May 08
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Packed up and embarked on my experience of a lifetime filming for national television!

It wasn't a walk in the park, that much I can say. Australia is beautiful....being in front of the camera is something else!

June 08
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"Celebrated" my birthday on the flight home from Sydney, with a bunch of strangers. Actually it wasn't too bad, because the lady beside me told me I reminded her of her daughter. Aww...

Ah yes, I also finally got my eyes done...yup, surgery...for vanity sake, and I LOVE THEM!!

Also, Alister & I started chatting online...(although we've been Myspace friends since the beginning of the year)

July 08
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Chatting became more frequent and we got to know each other so much better...our relationship had developed into something wonderful!

Appeared on NTV7's Breakfast Show with Alfred and Jaclyn.

August 08
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Alister said "I Love You" for the first time and mannnnnn.....was I ESTATIC!!!

Tourism Australia announced the winner of the online voting Favourite Aussie Ambassador contest. YAY!! C'est MOI!!

Oh yea, so I started planning and saving up to go back to Australia (mah fav country!!)

September 08
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Ar....saving $$$ for my next Aussie trip, so didn't do much else.

October 08
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Ok, nothing too eventful happened......Oh yea i cut my hair again...and it was baddddd.....but its grown out now....Thank God! Oh yea, practiced to sing for Pam Khoo's wedding...

November 08
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Sang at Pam Khoo & Logan Lee's wedding...it was a BEAUTIFUL wedding...I am so Happy for them.

Finally met Alister face-to-face for the first time...and LOVED EVERY SECOND of it...I had the best holiday ever in Tasmania...as u would have read below.

December 08
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Had to say Goodbye to Alister and Australia...but only for a while...

I'm so happy how things turned out for us!

Not a week after I returned to Penang, I had to co-MC my hospital's Annual Dinner with my colleague Keith. It was good fun!

Had a quiet Christmas dinner with my family and friends this year. No huge party, coz we were too tired to plan and host one.

31st December 2008
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I've had a great 2008....its been a good stress free year, yet I've been able to do so many things...Things that I will cherish in my heart forever...

I do hope that 2009 will be just as good if not better...but I won't expect anything...life is easier that way...I've learnt to let go of the unnecessary things, feeling and emotions that makes me miserable and unhappy. I must say it has worked wonders.

I gave up looking for LOVE and Love found me instead...That's just how it is...we all learn eventually, one way or another...just LET IT BE. I've learnt to appreciate what I've been blessed with and not take people or things for granted.

My new year's resolutions? I never make any resolutions...but I guess I've always worked on being a better person. Being more patient, tolerant and understanding. To try to accept people and situations as they are and not try to change things or people to suit my needs instead.

Well...the year is almost over and I'd like to wish everyone a

Blessed New Year!!!

THE BEST HOLIDAY EVER!!!

Heya!!

I'm back! Yup, from my AMAZING 2 week holiday in Tasmania and meeting the man I love for the first time...

Was I nervous? Well, honestly...not really...because we talked so much online and practically know each other so well...but of course its always gonna be different meeting face-to-face.

I took the evening flight from Penang on Friday, 28th Nov and transited at KLIA for my 7.5hr over-night flight to Melbourne. I arrived Melbourne airport at 8.10am and waited 6 excruciating hours for my Jetstar flight to Launceston at 3.45pm.

By the time the plane touched down at Launceston airport...i was just about ready to hit the sack! Ok, so walking down the steps of the plane made my heart flutter a little...and I must admit, i was caught off guard when he popped out and said "Hey!" just as i stepped into the terminal. I didn't expect non-passangers to be just behind the doors (even before collecting the checked-in luggage) and gave me a kiss on my cheek...hmmm...not really what I had expected...haha!

So we set eyes on each other in person for the first time....and I think (and he would admit) that he was more nervous than I was!! Don't get me wrong, I was very happy to finally meet him! And he was every bit the sexy man I envisioned! hahah! ok, its not like we've never seen each other before! But u get what I mean.

As we were waiting for my luggage, he nervously planted a small kiss on my lips. It was sweet...and I could tell he WAS nervous! hahah! (ok i'm gonna stop saying that coz he might kill me!)

Anyway, we got to his mom's and was introduced to the family; mom, stepdad, Bella (the Hyperactive dog) and Polly (the cat).

Bella's upset Polly's on her bed...with her ball!

We hardly did anything much the first evening...ok so i won't be giving those kinda details here....but I was fed the most scrumptious BLT sandwich I've had in my life!! Everytime Alister has them...I could just imagine the taste of it....and drool of course....but nothing beats the real thing.....it was Mouthwatering!!! (I can still taste it in my mouth now!)

BLT Sandwich
(photo isn't mine, i forgot to take one but it looks exactly the same)

On Sunday, we had a lie-in and then he took me to the Aquarius Roman Baths on George Street...mmm....wish he told me not to wash my hair that morning...but it was luxurious...we lazed in the various warm baths then hopped over to the bigger cooler pool to revitalize the senses then back again to the warm baths...and short stints in the sauna and steam room...we must have spent more than 2 hrs relaxing and soaking....

We planned on catching the movie Australia that afternoon...but we were so relaxed..we decided to put it off till Tuesday (discount movie day!)...so we just did a lil grocery shopping at Coles and stocked up to stuff our faces at Cradle Mountain...

Ok, so the days have all kinda merged into a confused mass in my head so I cant really recall what we did on some days...so bear with me..

We did catch Australia (the movie) on Tuesday, and it was good! I loved it, till the very end...even when i was busting to pee...and drumming Alister's knuckles with my fingers..willing the movie to END ALREADY! He turned to me and said "You really need to pee, don't you?", Gee, Einstein...what gave u that absurd idea?



Our actual 'plan' was to go up to Sheffield on Tuesday, camp a night before heading for Cradle Mountain...he even bought me a new sleeping bag...but the weather was horrible and we decided to camp on our way back, on Friday (but we didn't, coz the weather was still iffy. We did find another 'use' for the sleeping bag of course! *wink*).

Alister put a lot of effort into planning our route...sweet!

On the way up to Cradle Mountain, we passed lush green pastures, herds of cows and flocks of sheep all set before a magnificient Tasmanian landscape.

Our first stop was a Honey Farm in Chudleigh.

The quaint little "farm/shop" had so many mindboggling, tongue numbing types of honey, I don't think we managed to try them all....maybe 90%. We did our best. They also had skincare products, knick knacks, toys and a lil show-n-tell Bee education corner.

Doing our best!

OMG, the Leatherwood Honey ice cream was LUSH!

After a very very very satisfying pick-me-up, we continued our journey to Cradle Mountain...more snappy happy shots....we were even in Paradise for all of 5 mins...

As we turned into the entrance of Highlanders Cottages, it started to snow! Snow in summer...yes, the popular Melbourne's "four seasons in one day" also applies to Tasmania.

Our Telopea Cottage

Checked-in, settled into our Telopea cottage and because it was sunny with blue skies again, we decided some fresh air would do us some good...so we went exploring our backyard....

Our Backyard

It snowed again while we were cooking dinner, after soaking in our very own private jacuzzi.

The next day, we woke up and had a huge breakfast of bacon, eggs + cheese, mushrooms, bacon+cheese roll, cherry tomatoes and caramel cappucino. The headed up to Cradle Mountain for our 3-4hr walk/hike around Dove lake.



On the way to the parking lot, we saw a cute lil wombat chomping on a small patch of grass by the side of the road.



We finally arrived at the parking lots (7km drive from the entrance) and were greeted by a magnificient view of the mountain itself....there was a bit of snow at the peak, which melted off later.



After some obligatory snaps, we started our walk while drinking in the fascinating scenary around us on that beautiful sunny day...








We decided to take a lil hike up another trail and nearly had to get on all fours to haul ourselves up at some parts...but it was worth the effort...as the view above was breathtaking...we followed our ears to the sounds of a waterfall and picked a perfect lil spot to have our lunch...of crackers with spicy dip and mangoes, washed down by the refreshing cool drink from the waterfall.

The view from our picnic spot

We got back the our cottage around 6pm and had a huge dinner of spaghetti with chicken in cream sauce...it was absolutely satisfying!

We even had a lil evening visitor...a Paddymelon and her baby...right outside our cottage...



We left the next morning...after a short visit to the Cradle Mountain Souvenir shop (it was closed after our walk the day before). I bought 2 posters and one as a gift for my babe. Can't wait to have them framed up!


On the way back, we visited King Solomon's Cave and a small town call Sheffield...where Alister bought me a beautiful pashmina...I absolutely LOVE IT! We munched on a packet of fresh cherries on our journey home...it was yummy!!



On Sunday, we went to Evandale Market....another beautiful sunny day...and we had a lovely time browsing thru the stalls, having a Dagwood dog each, buying spices (for our steak or fish if we caught any), a Lavender Heat Pack, a small secondhand beanie doggie for my doggies, chewy candy, a bottle of Ned Kelly's Tawny (port - for Dad) and a bottle of Ned Kelly's wine spritzer (for us).

Gorging on a Dagwood Dog

The Doggie for my Doggies + Candies!

We then headed to a lake to fish....no, unfortunately we didn't catch anything except weeds...and more weeds...



Lunch in the car was exquisite! Camembert cheese on crackers topped with sundried tomatoes!

Being fed...mm...

We paid a visit to his Nan and Pops at the nursing home and also met his aunt Gail and had a very delicious lunch Gail cooked for us...steak and veggies! We then went weeding in his Nan's garden which was in full bloom! Roses and all sorts of beautiful colourful flowers!

After lunch, we headed to the Cataract Gorge for a walk...another breathtaking landscape...

My sexyman... *kiss*

As we left our food in the car, we decided to have a lil picnic down at Prince's Park in the city centre. We found our lil spot in the sun and enjoyed our nectarines, peaches, yoghurt, crackers and dip....





Oh, for dinner Alister cooked steak with assorted side dishes...but Bella decided to help herself to a piece of raw steak...so we had half a piece each...but it was still very delicious and filling....



We also visited the Bridestowe Lavender Estate, but since the flowers were not in full bloom yet, didn't get to take very good pictures...




The Lavender ice cream was an interesting experience...the Lavender tea was pretty average but the Lavender + Coconut candy was charming...



We sunbathed on the rocks in a little 'river' in Hollybank park for about an hour or so....then returned to our car for another lil picnic of SALAMI (OMG SO YARMEEEHH!) and crackers, oh and a Banana!





We had some more picnics...mangoes and dinners with his family....it was the best holiday I've had so far....

The view from our picnic spot in City park

Enjoying mangoes and OJ!

But the inevitable came...and my 2 weeks was up...I had to say goodbye (but not farewell) to my Lovie...we were sad....but we know we'd see each other again soon enough....

Before my flight back...

I'd like to thank everyone who made this holiday such an awesome one! My Bayboo Alister, his mom Meryl, stepdad Howard for being so hospitable and putting me up at their beautiful home and Bella and Polly and not forgetting all those who voted for me and helped me win this trip!

THANK YOU ALL!!!


*oh, by the way, the man that I love, turned out to be the man of my dreams!*