HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!

Hey!

So its the first day of the Lunar New Year and after hitting the snooze button about 3 times I decided it was time to roll out of bed and get ready.

I put on a nice bright red dress Alister bought for me from Tassie (LOVE IT!!), dolled up and we went for breakfast at a coffee shop nearby.



Uncle Soo Hay's house was our first destination of the day. Most of my extended relatives (Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Nephews) were there already. Munching on all the CNY goodies!!

We then whipped out our respective cameras and the camwhoring commenced! Of course, after dutifully wishing everyone a very Keong Hee! (Gong Xi/Happy New Year) and heh...collecting our angpau.



This is the one day we all felt like supermodels...(mind u, i didn't say "LOOK LIKE" okay). Cameras flashing from all angles...amateur photographers going "Look here" and "my turn" hehe!!

The young ladies + boy

The Ladies

The next victim, whoops..i mean relative's house was our Grandaunt's place (Gu kor poh). Now, if there ever was a person who's personality was bigger than the person..it would be my Gu Kor poh. She's TOINY!! (about half my size) but extremely lively, jovial and robust! She must be about mid-80 and can still remember ALL our names (grand nephew and nieces). Not bad huh?

Oh, more snappy happy picture taking at her cute mini water feature garden (compulsary).



There's where my camera accidentally fell down and well...looks like thats the end of my trusty (free) Kodak digital camera (the er..."gear" is dislocated, so it needs to be sent for repair, or i might just get a new one, depending on how much the repair would cost me)

The last snap before my camera dieded

The last house we went to was our Or Cheem's house at Batu Ferringhi. There's where we properly sat down and munched on the goodies (kuih kapit with chicken floss filling, mini springrolls, almond cookies)...there was even Roti Jala (i didn't have any, coz my tummy was a bit dodgy when i woke up)




We adjourned home around noon. I haven't even open a single angpau yet....its not that important to me now. I tried to take a nap..didn't happen. So here I am now...blogging...uploading pics...

with my bros, David and Gary

OH, it wasn't too hot today! Thank goodness.

with my babies!

To the Most Special Man in My Life

~~~~~***~~~~~***~~~~~***~~~~~

~*{HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALISTER Y.}*~

I LOVE U BABE!!

~~~~~***~~~~~***~~~~~***~~~~~

REUNION DINNER

Oh yes yes yes!! I'm so looking forward to dinner tonight at my relative's.

GREEN CURRY CHICKEN!!!

JIU HU CHAR!!!

LOR BAK!!!

(these aren't mine, i got them off the web)

To me and my tongue and my tummy...my Aunt makes the best!!

Her green curry is exceptionally thick and full of flavour! Nowhere else comes close to my aunt's green curry chicken!

That's the best part of Chinese New Year! oh yea besides reuniting with all my family members...exchanging news, gossip and taking loads of pics!

What we do every year, with my extended family, is we all meet at my eldest Uncle's house (dad's big bro) and have a scrumptious dinner my aunt prepared, then sit around till late-ish...

The next morning, we'd all gather at my Uncle's again and have breakfast, left-overs from the night before...YARMMMEEHHHH!! Leftovers always taste better the next day!

We then head off to visit some other relatives....we used to visit at least 5-6 relative's houses...but now, its down to about 3 houses...if we're lucky...(meaning, if they haven't gone off for a holiday!)

We'd all go in about 5 cars...Eldest Uncle's family, Eldest Aunt's family, My family, Fourth uncle's family and Youngest Uncle's family. This is all from my dad's side of the family.

We have been practicing this "custom" ever since I can remember. I love it, even though the weather is exceptionally HOT during Chinese New Year. Getting together with my cousins and having a laugh, stuffing our faces with all the CNY goodies and taking heaps of pictures...camwhoring all over town.

The only thing I DREAD about CNY (some of you might have guessed it by now) is when relatives ask me "WHEN ARE U GETTING MARRIED??" seeing that i'm already way past the "Right age". All the unnecessary comments like "You're gonna be the last one to get married" or "Don't be so choosy, all the good ones would be taken already"....blah blah blah...

No really, is life ALL about getting married?? Are u a failure if u don't get married?? Is it some kind of achievement to get tied down?

Am I not as good as my cousins if i fail to snag one?? Jeez....it really gets to me...(only because i let it, i guess).

Sometimes I wonder if they ask because they Genuinely are concerned about my bleak future or if its the lack of topics for conversation...

I always have to think of "polite" responses to the above questions...it can get tiring, when all i wanna tell them is..."STUFF IT!"

Ok, i shall not rant about that now...because this isn't the time nor place....but yes, that's what I'm NOT looking forward to...

When we were younger, CNY was all about having fun and collecting angpau's (red packets filled with money) given by married couples to kids and unmarried young people.



Now, I don't mind so much about angpau's. Especially if they come with all those "Why are you not married yet?" comments....yea, i'll pass on that one.

But anyyyhooo..... Have a VERY HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR y'all!!!





Ok...okay...i Love Blossoms....cherry, apple, peach...watever....they're pretty....

WISDOM ! I has it! (finally)

A huh...

and there I was .... thinking I was already Ms. SmartiePanties all along...

Till i discovered, due to my sudden (or prolonged) discomfort, that my wisdom tooth was finally growing.

Har har..go ahead and laugh...yes, I'm 28 going on 29 and this is my FIRST Wisdom tooth....

Actually, it has been attempting to emerge for about 2 years, I think...because I've been having discomfort in my gums..where its 'supposed' to grow...but there was hardly anything (tooth) for months on end...so I thought it was NEVER gonna happen...and I really didn't think I had anymore space for anymore teeth!!

But I looked today! and its THERE!! nah, I dun think I'll be taking any pics...or posting any either...(thank God!)

Ah I wikipedia-ed it...like I do with all things that randomly pop into my head....
There u go...knock urself out...
Mandibular third molar


Sorry...this ain't such an exciting post...but then again..nothing much has been happening lately...

Oh, I'm meeting up with the girls tonight...POPCORN and DVD!!!



We're gonna watch a "re-run" of something that has already taken place...*cringe*

Oh, does anyone know how to make popcorn WITH Caramel? I know how to make popcorn .... but how do u mix the caramel in without killing the whole thing?

HALP!

La Vie en Rose

"La Vie en Rose" (French for "Life through rose-colored glass," but directly translated into "Life in pink") was the signature song of French singer Édith Piaf. (wikipedia)




What have i done so far in 2009?

...er...not much...immersed in work...(boring)

fiddling with some gadgets in Blogger...adding some music to my page and basically learning a bit more about the kind of music i love...

Spending lots of time with my babies/doggies...living life day by day and relaxing.

Most of my friends who have watched Twilight loved it! One or 2 have read the book...and say the book is so much better...which is normally true...I've linked Bella's Lullaby (Twilight) from youtube on my sidebar, so feel free.




I watched Twilight in Launceston with Alister the day before i left Tassie and we loved it! Although, Edward Cullen didn't do much for me (in the movie)...dunno why. Less (wo)men more share??



I've borrowed the book from Fran (a Twilight fan) and will start reading it .... when i finish this book i bought from Sheffield, Tassie.



ok, back to La Vie en Rose...which I'm currently obsessed with. Yes, a very old song but its BEAUTIFUL. I do like Sophie Milman's version better though (link on sidebar). Maybe its the recording way back then that makes Edith's version sound a bit scratchy.




There was a movie about Edith's life out in 2007, how she became the voice of France. The movie is called La môme, (in France) and La vie en rose (everywhere else in the world), starring Marion Cotillard who won an Academy Award for her performance, marking the first time an Oscar had been given for a French-language role. She is also the first French actress to win a Best Actress BAFTA and the first to win a Comedy or Musical Golden Globe for a foreign language role. It also became the first French cinema film to win two Oscars, the other for Makeup. (quote from Wikipedia)




But here's the Original lyrics. Enjoy!!

La Vie en Rose by Edith Piaf

Des yeux qui font baiser les miens,

Un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche,

Voila le portrait sans retouche

De l'homme auquel j'appartiens

Quand il me prend dans ses bras

Il me parle tout bas,

Je vois la vie en rose.

Il me dit des mots d'amour,

Des mots de tous les jours,

Et ca me fait quelque chose.

Il est entre dans mon coeur

Une part de bonheur

Dont je connais la cause.

C'est lui pour moi. Moi pour lui

Dans la vie,

Il me l'a dit, l'a jure pour la vie.

Et des que je l'apercois

Alors je sens en moi

Mon coeur qui bat

Des nuits d'amour a ne plus en finir

Un grand bonheur qui prend sa place

Des enuis des chagrins, des phases

Heureux, heureux a en mourir.

Quand il me prend dans ses bras

Il me parle tout bas,

Je vois la vie en rose.

Il me dit des mots d'amour,

Des mots de tous les jours,

Et ca me fait quelque chose.

Il est entre dans mon coeur

Une part de bonheur

Dont je connais la cause.

C'est toi pour moi. Moi pour toi

Dans la vie,

Il me l'a dit, l'a jure pour la vie.

Et des que je l'apercois

Alors je sens en moi

Mon coeur qui bat

LOVELY!!

SALUT 2009!

I received this in a txt before midnight. Its been around for years but its still a good message.

Remember,


.: Life is short :.

.: Forgive & Forget :.

.: Love Truly :.

.: Laugh uncontrollably :.

.: Never regret anything that made you smile :.



What was i doing at the stroke of midnight?

Putting on my jammies (after an overdue shower)...sitting in bed (for the past 7 hrs - online la), chatting with the people I love who are too far to be with me and chilling with my babies.

I wouldn't have it any other way.


~P~

2008 :: What a year!!

2 0 0 8

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
--------------

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

February 08
---------------

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

March 08
-----------

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
----------

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
---------

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
----------

"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
---------

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
------------

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
----------------

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

October 08
-------------

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
---------------

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
---------------

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
------------------------

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!!!