is about to end in a few minutes. 31 days of the year have passed. Tsk!! What have you done or accomplished so far?
I wanted to blog properly but i am too preoccupied with life and work. even now at this very moment i am actually in my evangelism explosion class. yes. it’s almost midnight. and stealing time to update a little because i miss this blog.
have a fruitful year ahead and God bless your 2013!
xoxo
I woke up with mixed feelings this morning. But once i settled down and grasped everything that came at my way, all i feel now is – I AM GRATEFUL!! For His grace, blessings, protection, and faithfulness. 2012 has been a good year. I believe 2013 would be even better. With His wonderful will.
So with this little time left, I just wanna wish all of you faithful readers (do i have any?) a very Happy New Year 2013!!! May His blessings, love, peace, joy and harmony be with all of us to go through the new year.
Here’s a shot of the last sunset of 2012. As i saw this view this evening, my heart was overwhelmed with gratitude and humbled by His awesome painting……
it has been more than a month. hmm…. one month and one week to be exact since i left labuan and reported duty in our hq here in usj, selangor to be in a very very important and critical project that i need to be physically present with the project team. one month and one week…. and i have never blog a single post about it. and that enough to let you know how busy we are at the moment. we are always chased for deadlines, preassured mentally and emotionally that i am quite surprise that none of us has gone REALLY crazy yet. although this project really drives all of us keh-ray-zeeee!!! you get me? no? nvm! today, i am in bintulu for site survey for the project purpose. see…. i have to be away from kl only i can have this little time to blog.
there are a lot a lot of interesting things apart of my hectic work happened throughout this short period. i dont quite know when will i be release to return to labuan. maybe another 1-2 months. i dont know. i just hope so muc that it wont be permanent. dear ceo, do you hear that? so you dont pandai-pandai pull anything uout from your sleeves!! i tak minat duduk kat kl ni tau!
well, in summary work occupied two-third of the pie chart of my life at the moment. i know it’s sad but i try to make it as interesting as possible and of course clinging to my heavenly father each and every single step of the way. in Him, i have all the peace, joy and so much love and loved!!
today, i am so grateful that i am so much loved T_____T
and just so you know, seven months of the year is almost gone! what have you done so far? *gasps!*
Bonjour!!
Yup!! You guessed it! I am now in France. In rural France to be exact. I forgot what is the exact name of this village but we are staying in this gigantic, cozy, antiques but renovated ancient castle called Chateau St. Julien. It’s our accommodation for the whole weekends as well as the reception venue of the wedding of my lovely friend Wellena and her French husband Nico. In fact this is actually Nico’s village where his parents live.
We’ve been staying in this chateau since 2 days ago. I’m loving every little corner of it. It looked spooky on the first sight but once inside, I’m amazed at everything that it offers. There are a total of seven rooms in this chateau that accommodates 15 occupancy but honestly it could fit 50 people. And I am now in a big room for the single travelers with 4 beds but I myself is not sleeping here. I am here just to suck some wifi cos it’s stronger here. Hehehe….. I sleep in a double room with my other girl friend, Cell.
We landed Paris after a rough 12 hours flight from KL on 19th early morning Paris time. There wer four of us from Malaysia. Me, Cell (the bridesmaid), Nick (the imported wedding photographer) and Azra ( the only one from KL). I believe everyone in the flight were not expecting the weather can be so cold when the Captain announce the temperature outside. It was 6 degree!!! Oh my gucci!! I thought I is Spring already?! In fact even the couple weren’t expecting the weather can be this so freaking cold that’s why they chose Spring Wedding at the first place.
So, we took a train to the main train station to this village. We still had plenty of time before our scheduled train to depart. Darn! The weather was so freakingly cold that all we wanted to do is to seat in a cafe and eat to keep us warm (from the heater). Gosh! This isn’t Spring. This is still Winter!! Maybe even colder than winter in Melbourne and Taipei the last time I went there. Now I am so glad that I brought my thick sweater apart from my trusted leather jacket. And my thermal sleeping long johns. Thank goodness!!
We took another 4 hours ride of train to reach the village and another 30 minutes to reach this majestic chateau. Apparently this chateau is up for rental for events such as weddings, workshops etc. The weather is very unpredictable, it can rain or drizzle for 15 mins and then stop and sun comes out and then half an hour later it rains again and repeat pattern for 100 times. So u tell me la, how to go out further? When every time after few shots of photos, we have to run back into the chateau whenever it started to rain 😦 and the fireplace never stop burning. It has been the favorite spot for everyone to get warm. Khaleena just arrived from Scotland yesterday and we did tried to walk a little further and the same thing happened. We had to run back again. grrrr!!
There are so much I wanted to write down. But the time is limited now. The wedding is today!! Yay!! And will start in another 6 hours at a church an hour drive from here. Yeah…. Everything is far here. But the bus is coming to pick us up at 12.30pm. So I need to get ready now. the reception will be at 8.30pm tonight. But over here, the sun sets at 8.30-9pm. They have longer day time here 🙂
I dont know how we all can stand the cold and chill with our dress later but for vanity we’ll brave ourselves.
I cannot wait for the wedding. The theme is ‘vintage’. So I’m going to shower now.
To Wel and Nico, enjoy your special day! And just have fun and don’t stop falling in love to each other over and over again. And million thanks for keeping me in this beautiful place and feed me so well that I think I’ve gain weigh just within these two days.
Be blessed always!
so one of my personal project this year is to learn to cook chicken curry.
reason: i love chicken curry! especially my mum’s.
The Mother cooked the best chicken curry everrrr. it’s so good that family friends will specially order from her when there’s small family party or when there’s pot luck or when i feel like eating :p but being an ignorant daughter i am, i never bother to learn or even look at how she cooked it. i only help her to… eat.
so, since i’m out of comfy home-cooked food. i’ll have to learn everything my own. huarrrghh!! this is when you say ‘Thank God for Internet!!’ so last Fri i googled the recipe and chose the simplest to follow.
so let’s start with the ingredients first.
1. half a chicken (my case, 1 part drumstick + 1 part breast)
2. 1 large potato (peeled and cut into chucks)
3. half packet of dry tofu (soaked in cold water until it is soft)
4. 3000ml of coconut milk
5. 5 tbl spoon of curry powder (add in water to make a paste)
6. 2 tbl spoon of chilli powder
7. 100ml of tamarind juice
Ingredients A:
1. 5 shallots
2. 5 cloves of garlic
3. 1 inch of ginger
4. 1 inch of tumeric
Ingredients B:
1. half of big onion (chopped finely)
2. 2 bunch of curry leaves
3. 2 cinnamon stick + 3 bunga cengkih (star anise) + some cadamom (i just pour in all what’s in the packet)
4. 2 stalks of big red chillies
5. 1 ripe tomato (cut into chunks)
hmmm… i think that’s about it. you may also add in 2 stalks of lemon grass for that extra aroma.
Method:
1. grind or blend all ingredients A together.
2. on a hot pan, heat up 100ml of cooking oil and fry Ingredients A until golden and aromatic.
3. add in Ingredients B into the pan ans stir together. ahh… the aroma is now starting to fill your entire kitchen.
4. add in the curry paste and chilli powder and then stir some more until everything is well mixed. be careful not to do that too long or else it will burn.
5. add in the coconut milk and stir well for 1 minute.
6. put in the chicken, potatoes and then the already soft dry tofu carefully into the mixture. mix well.
7. let it simmer for 5 minutes.
8. add in the tamarind juice.
9. leave to simmer for another 15-20 minutes.
10. done and ready to be served. good for 4 persons serving 🙂
and this is how mine turned out like.
have fun cooking!!
be blessed, friends.
*gasps*
1/12 of 2012 has just gone!
what have you done in the last 31 days that make you proud?!
eleven more months to accomplish and achieving our goals of the year.
and btw, it’s also Federal Territory Day today and Labuan is one of it.
Happy FT Day to all people in KL, Putrajaya and Labuan!!
be blessed, friends!
xoxo
[UPDATED]
when you enter another decade of your life how did you cope with it? i’m happy but i’m also a little bit confuse and…. in denial. kns! i have resisted and refrained to make a big fuss about it but part of me have waited so long to blog about it. this phase. this transition of age group. today, a month and four days of being in the 25-30 or sometimes 30-35 age group i finally decided to shake off the delusional issue of being forever 25+. blame it on CNY. during friends gathering i’m the only unmarried girl in the group T___T (KS doesnt count cos he is a guy) my girlfriends are either married, with kids or expecting babies (one popping out next month on Valentine’s Day! woot!) and seeing them worrying and take their child as main consideration every single time before making any decision made me worry too O.O” now who’s the boss already? the parents or the kids?! *confuse* my friends’ children calling me ‘aunty’ and worst, just 3 days ago my cousin brother got married at the age of 23!!! i will always remember he said to my cousin sister (who is also married) ‘i cannot wait for kak ong, who ask her dont want to marry? so i kawen first lah’ LOL!!! made me realized how ‘old’ i am and how left behind i am in the relationship department although i can say that mine stand the test of time and distance the longest! what is wrong with me?! sigh!! that’s that. the end. ok next.
but good thing is i am still eligible to receive ang pow!! muahahahahahaaa!!! so anyway, all is well. i’m not complaining much la just that you know it sometimes get into you and you get emo semacam.
so since it’s the 30th day of the year, imma blog about the 30 things i did in the span of one year of my 29 until the day i turned 30 last month (which is last year). brace yourself.
1. my 29th bithday was celebrated with a surprise cake from my youth group friends during their visit to our christmas open house (also on my birthday) before i leave for Taipei the next day.
friends and family 😀
2. went to Taiwan with my bestie, Scarlet who was 5 months preggie that time. count down and celebrated new year 2011 at Taipei 101 and then visited the Taipei Flora Expo.
Taiwan 100 years anniversary ROC 2011 New Year countdown.
Taipei Flora Expo 2011
3. visited Hualien and met fellow Mirian in our tour group.
Hualien
the two dudes are fellow Mirian and a mother-daughter team from Sg.
4. family trip to Manila in Feb. and our house got broken into T___T
jeepney!! only in The Philippines.
5. passed the test of eating ‘Balut’. it tastes surprisingly good. can join Fear Factor Challenge already.
6. went for a relaxing gateway to Bali with Jane in March.
in Ubud
7. got my Giraffes (finally!) from Ubud and made new friend with a friendly local girl called Nami.
bought a family of girrafes. not the ducks ok :p
new friend 🙂
8. went for a long awaited trip to Vietnam with Jane in April.
typical morning activity in Hanoi.
9. traveled on a sleeping cabin on a train ride for the first time and trekked a total of 10 hours in Sapa, Hanoi.
sharing cabin with a friendly French couple.
Sapa, Hanoi. where you'll still see the natives wearing their traditional costumes everyday.
10. stayed in a junk for the first time at Ha Long Bay!
11. mesmerized by the breathtakingly beautiful Ha Long Bay!
Ha Long Bay
12. Chu Chi Tunnels at Ho Chi Minch.
13. went for a workover job for the first time on Trident 16 rig. of all the site jobs that are assign to us, workover job will be the last type of job that will be given to me because it is a tough job. tough means 24 hours on standby :p usually the guys will be given priority to go for it first. but that time was a desperate case where all engineers were unavailable due to heavy work schedule so no choice i had to go!! T___T but actually i was fine with it just that i had to miss my Osaka flight!!!! horror i tell you!! thank goodness i was flying MAS and with the help of high ranking insider i managed to change my date where MASHoliday is not eligible to do so initially. Phew!! ok where was i? owh…. Trident 16!
rig's helideck
14. went to Osaka and be a kid again at Universal Studio Japan. whee!!
Universal Studio Japan!! 😀
15. visit to Osaka will not complete if you dont visit Kyoto. stayed at a ryokan. the japanese traditional bedroom. and also stayed in a mix dorm for the first time. and it is so clean that its toilet almost had me a heart attack!
ryokan 🙂
aiya!!! i actually wanted to upload a video of the toilet that nearly made me to experience heart attack but dunno why here cannot support AVI?! how ah??
16. turned into a geisha and visited the Kiyomizu temple.
fake geisha :p
Kiyomizu Temple, Kyoto
17. attended my 1st wedding of the year – my cousin Melissa’s in June.
their wedding theme colour was green hence the green apple as favors 🙂
18. went to Chiang Mai with Jane (again) in July and had a thrilling experience of Flights of The Gibbons.
i think that's Jane there. the ziplines is so long that you cannot wait to reach to the other end. a whole new experience of flying though the canopies.
19. visited the White Temple of Chiang Rai.
Wat Rong Khun, Chiang Rai
20. had to returned a day earlier to Malaysia from Thailand due to work purposes – attend ISORD 2011. which also turned out to be a part leisure part training trip at Langkawi. the last time i was there was 16 years ago.
21. just one day after returning from Langkawi, i packed my bag again for Perhentian Island. this time with a group of friends. both the bf’s and mine 🙂
little olsen and me floating 🙂 happy day!
22. my gf got married!! to a Korean guy!! now i really really cannot say ‘she also not yet ma…. why rush?’ the usual excuse when people ask The Question 😡
cmee + martin.
23. went to Phuket with cousin and my 2 other girls 🙂 was a truly inspiring and blessed trip this one.
the bottom right photo with our 2 funny entertainer onboard our cruise. suddenly our guide and waiter turned into 'wonder girls' and 'gloria gaynor'. LOL!!LOL!!! l
24. Organized a fund raising dinner with a Rock-ish theme. but it was a super stressful one it can be the down-est moment in my whole 2011.
handmade paper weight made of rock and my cousin came all the way from miri to support 🙂
25. joined the church for outreach ministry to Trusan Laut. was treated 1st class hospitality. we were spoiled by so much yummy local food!!!!!!
26. attended more friends’ wedding. *yawn*
27. went for an impromptu trip to Sg. visited USS and Marina Bay Sands this time.
my 2nd universal studio in a year o.O
one of my bucket list!! to do rock climbing. of all the places i have to do it in USS. posing with my cert and my young instructor 🙂
Rain Oculus at Marina Bay Sands and chocolate lover ;p
28. became official photographer for D&G’s wedding. yay!
their album.
29. Christmas in Lawas at grandparents’. first time driving long distance alone and it wasnt that bad at all.
30. Climbed and reached the peak of Mount Kinabalu on my 30th Birthday!!! win!!!
bottom right is my team member. but only three managed to reach to peak (top left). yay. us!
i made it!!!!! happy birthday to me 😀
may you have a blessed day, friends!
xoxo
before i fall asleep, i just wanna wish all my chinese family / relatives, friends and readers a very prosperous chinese lunar new year 2012!!
it’s the dragon year. water dragon to be specific. some said it’s good. some said it’s the fiercest and nastiest dragon of all. #shrugs make no difference to me though. but many are trying to have baby this year i heard. hmmm….
visited only two houses today. we had time to go for a movie – Viral Factor starring Jay Chow and Nicholas Tze. funny thing when we thought the chinese will be busy celebrating the festival by tending the families and entertaining the visiting guests, the cinema was actually filled by majority of them. why arent these people celebrating at home?! @.@
so back to the movie. we didnt regret at all that we voted for it (we were torn between Viral Factor and The Journey To The Mysterious Island). i couldnt believe that 80% f the movie was shot in Malaysia. all the police officers, protons and even myvi were in it. oh! i particularly impressed with the scenes at Pavillion!! u’ll wont believe that those scenes can be done there. so dont be fooled by its gangster looking poster and its action packed trailer .it was actually filled with family value that it made such a suitable movie for CNY (especially the final part) am not gonna spoil anything here so u’ll have to watch it yourself. it’s quite long (2 hours 15mins) but yeah Breaking Dawn was long too :p
hmmm…. my main purpose was just to wish everyone happy chinese new year but melalak about movie instead. tomorrow is house visiting with ex-classmates cum gathering day! yay!! it’s my main reason that i decided to come back during this festive season. because you’ll never know when can you meet them again. so better appreciate every single time that we have now.
Gong Xi Fa Cai, friends!
i looked back at my old post on my goals that i’ve listed for 2011 and i cant believe that i’ve listed so many. a total of TEN goals! are you kidding me?!! now let’s check one by one whether i’ve achieve any of them.
1. to not skip my tithe. WoohoOO!!
2. maintain my weight.
3. complete my holi-year. (8 out of 9 planned trips and 1 impromptu trip)
4. to be less a procrastinator. (errrr……)
5. manage my financial to last me the whole year. (i said the whole 2011, right? not for the next 100 year, right? hehe…..)
6. to be less emo and control my temper. (still emo but i’ve lowered my temper. i think.)
7. plan and organise things with patience. (argghh!!! i screwed up on this!)
8. travel solo. (*cries in corner*)
9. to blog more often. (FAIL!!)
10. to take risks. (my life is at risk whenever i step my feet offshore! ceh! ok that doesnt count cos it is work. what about taking whole lot of annual leaves until nil and had to go unpaid risking my career advancement or worst got sacked?! i still feel i didnt do really fully push my limit on this one but for 2011 i can say that it was so-so. that explained the half-sentence scratched :p)
at least five out of 10 were achieved! what about the unachievable ones? should i bring them to my this year’s goal? some yes. some no. because i’m realistic like that. i will still try to blog often, i will try to plan and organize things properly and i still wish silently i have a chance to travel solo. as for being a world class procrastinator and an emo girl, i guess i’ll just have to be myself!
i dont have resolution this year. just like any other years before this. but i have plans! i have my own personal projects! and i have some goals!
Plans:
1. Paris/Europe Trip
2. Cambodia Trip
3. Two very important events
Personal Projects:
1. take vain picture of what i wear. #whatiwear
2. to frame all some paintings that i bought from my travels. *sweats*
3. develop new blogsite.
4. paint on canvas.
5. 50cents piggy bank.
6. learn to cook laksa and chicken curry for goodness sake!! me!!!
Goals:
1. push my career to the next level. IT’S TIME!! i can do this!! *tepuk semangat*
2. attend a photography workshop.
3. book at least ten five photo assignment (weddings, engagement, portrait. no event please.) knowing my hectic work schedule for this year i doubt i can handle 10 shoots -__- so i lowered my number. *timid
4. to blog all my travels last year. *sweats*
hmm…. that sounds a lot. i dont expect to achieve all of them. even if i fail to achieve any of them by the end of this year i know i’ll learn some valuable lessons and grow through it all. just like all previous years. i believe you’ve grown and become the person you are today because of what you’ve went through the whole year too, right? like they always say, it’s not about the destination, it’s more about the journey towards it.
in the midst of everything that going around in my life in this short 21 days, i’ve also experienced beautiful and indescribable encounter /feelings spiritually. i have ASKED!!! and i RECEIVED IMMEDIATELY!!! i have CHALLENGED His presence. and i was NUDGED for being of little faith. padan muka! The Holy Spirit work their way on me and always left my in peace for The Lord says – trust in Me! 🙂
For we walk by faith, not by sight ~ 2 Cor 5:7
aaahh!!! i caught you yawning!! *throw peanuts* wake up!! i guess in a nutshell (pun not intended) i just want to encourage us to believe in our ability to success / achieving our goals. there will always people / situations that may deter us along the way and want to give up but it is always our CHOICE to whether just brush them off the shoulder like a speck of dust or suck it until it hurt us. always choose the positive side!! and remember God always provide.
i want to leave you with my fav tweet recently.
Start with an idea or a dream. Then ACT on it. U may struggle; overcome it. Cry. Smile. Be GRATEFUL. And don’t let go of His hands. ~Sidney Mohede
be blessed, friends!
xoxo
it’s my second post of the year and we are nearly entering the third week of 2012. dang! when i track back my blog statistic last year i calculated that i only blogged a total of 63 posts where January was the most with 12 posts and July was the most pathetic with only ONE post. kns. then i remember, in July alone i had been to four different places either on holidays or work. i hardly have time to blog. okay. hear. hear. excuses!!! but after subtracted the total into 12 months i did blogged around 5 posts a month. wasn’t that bad afterall. it’s like once a week with 1-2 more extra. and why do i mention all this statistic again? digressing much!! and now i’ve forgotten my purpose of this post. kns!!!
i have been so busy with work since the first day of working day this year. hardly breath. hence the lack of updates. even as i am composing this post right now i have to refer to my diary for what has happen the passed weeks. not much i can use here cos they are all work related T__T sigh!
hmmm…. what about a stupid incident? for the first time in being a hand phone owner of my life, i dropped my phone into the toilet bowl one day. yes. i dropped my Iphone4 into the toilet bowl after flushing!! my reflex action worked a little too slow that it already touched the bottom when i picked it up in that split second. i got panicked! the first thing that came into my mind – HAIRDRYER! but knowing the not so smart phone, how can i open it up without the specific screwdriver? *cry* the casing was all wet. thank goodness my casing was the type that covers the whole body. but still…. what about the headset and charging port? water still can go in from there right? i went frantically to the nearest phone service shop but kns the person hasnt report duty. went to another one. they dont fix Iphone. kns!!!! so i had to drive all the way out to town….. went to Apple Boulevard and another phone shop. they both adviced me not to open it up due to warranty whatnots and assured me that Iphone4 design is so tight that water wont go in easily. i had my doubt and feeling skeptical on them. ‘what if they are only lazy to layan me?’ i did try charging and using the earphones at home before i went to the shop. both worked perfectly. and that strengthened their notion even more. and fyi, my phone is fine till this very moment. so yay!! Conclusion is, Iphone4 has high tolerance to water (or i was lucky) so can go get one yourself. or the 4s :p
pheww… that was a long one.
i just finally received D&G’s actual wedding day album. it arrived in less than a week. i was impressed!! the colour for some photos were a bit off unlike the one that i see and satisfied with on my laptop. but i am very very happy with the outcome. fabulous! and i cannot wait to share their photos here.
on a more stressful side, the ceo finally added me on google talk. our co’s mode of communication. and we had a good chat. ‘good’ means i’ll have to say bye-bye to my carefree lifestyle and be prepare for sleepless nights for the rest of the year which has already started though. i can feel 100 tonnes of weighs on my shoulders right after our chats. sigh! and i know my ‘2011 holiyear’ will finally lead me to this. this exaggerating expectation is the price i have to pay. so this year is a year of redemption and to make up of all lose time. #challengeaccepted
met up with girl friends last week end. and for once, i felt so left behind in errr…. the relationship department. my girls are either married, have kids or expecting baby. well, suck it up buttercup!! it’s your choice!! me!!! T__T so i’ll be meeting them again next week on CNY. yay!! and talking bout that, i was planning to drive back but since the ferry is full and i have no companion, i might as well wait list for flight instead. its the same thing.
owh, i have finally sold my Nikkor 18-105mm f3.5 dx lens to a friend. thought of using the money to top up for a new lens but i am still torn between a new lens Nikkor 85mm f1.8 or a canon G12. haihh…. how ah??!
ok, a photo to end this post.
nexus karambunai 🙂
I didnt know bout the existence of this photo until now. must be my sister’s creative work while i was having my massage at the Massage Hut. i was browsing through my album to scout for a photo to be uploaded here and this one made the cut. because it reminds me of a wonderful relaxing and pampered time enjoyed with people i love and sponsored by people who love me 🙂
btw, i am on twitter most of the time nowadays. and instagram. this photo social network is addictive i tell you. tell me if you are on in and add me @leanoval ok.
be blessed, friends!
xoxo
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