birthday presents

Birthday presents!!

Now here's all the lovely gifts I received from family and friends.

Thanks all of you. You guys shouldn't have!!! But... thanks so much!!!!

Presents not listed in any particular preferences order!!

The bags...

Sling bag from my lovely koko who most probably dread the month of Feb coz he gta buy presents for his sis, his gf's bday and for valentine's day!!

Handbag from Rachel

The funnys ... things I opened that made me laugh...

Ugly Doll from Darren... Ugly but adorable = cute.. just like me :p

Kitty pouch from Pei Yun where the price tag was still on.. that's why I laughed.. Nyehehehe...

Kiddy hand puppet from Shaun and Pui Li. Ahhh!! See! Told you I'm still young. Bet they think I'm still young too :p

For decoration purposes...

For the handphone... from Adrian

DOLPHIN windchime from Uda. Look Uda! I put it up already!!!!

Hand painted Martini glass from Gjin, Ken and Audrey. Why did I classify it under decorative purposes? Because it is so damn beautiful and unique!!!

The sporty ...

Nike dri fit running top from Wei En, Sheng and Henry... yes, it fits perfectly :D

And now the presents which were given to me by the people who weren't here for my birthday ... Thank you so so much!!!!

A heart shaped pendant from my 4th auntie. Can wear it in three ways! She said... "Wear this heart on you till a nice young man comes along and gives you a bigger one..." That's.... my auntie....

A dolphin wooden sculpture that I will have to fix myself from Jellymi. I actually fixed it up already. Just need to buy eyes and it will be completed!

1000 pieces puzzle from Jellymi also... help me do arr!!!! Testing my patience is it?

And to time myself how fast I complete the puzzle ...

A dress watch as well... Thank you la!!!! So many presents!!

And now... for the presents from my other half. The one which made me smiled the whole time whilst going through it....

A photo frame of us + A lovely birthday note + A photo album filled with great memories throughout year 2007.... I like.. so so so very very much.

And because it's Ying Swan... there must be something silly as well.. this girl accidentally printed too much photos.. hence I got all of these extraSS!

But not to worry, I made good use of them ... You think I'll just keep them in my drawer? No way!! Here's what I did the next day with them ....

Nice lerr... Hehehe.... the idea came from the birthday notes that were hung up in her room wall. Now I got something similar as well! Except they are photos instead.

Finally I've come to the end of all the presents I got. Thank you so so so berry berry muchy much!!! I really can't say thank you enough!!!

And here's just some extra reads ...

The very detailed abo plan by Shaunnie .. RAWRR

Birthday shoutout along with THE video by Gjin

Birthday post with editted picture by Jellymi

Birthday shoutout along with an idiotic picture by Ah Nat

Birthday shoutout along with dodgy picture in birthday shout-out box by Swannie

birthday

Birthday

11th Feb, 2008 - Monday

The day I turn twenTEEN! Midnight came and the texts came flooding in not only from NZ but Msia and Aussie as well. Being my other half, Swannie called me all the way from malaysia!!! Thanks babe!!! You are truly truly my other half. Muakxxxxx!!! Sad that you couldn't be here with me on my birthday, I wished so much for you to be here... but your call just makes it better :D

I was woken up at 8 something in the morning by Siew Aun who was constantly reminding me i'm 20. Ishh ishhh!!! At least he's still nice enough to call me a little girl. Haha! Forever gna be a little girl la....Nyehehehehe.. used to hate it when he calls me that last time. But now, I don't mind at all!!! Wanna be little forever.

Was lazy to do anything and just felt like lying on the bed. Wasn't that excited with turning 20. Apart from the texts that kept coming in from all over and the facebook msgs ... it felt like a normal day. But having a friend who purposely took two days off to be here for my birthday meant that he will do anything to get me out of the bed and out of the house. After a nice yummy bday breakfast by mum, I took him for a haircut (ahmad duty still stands on my bday aye?) and then went for a swim at lloyd elsmore. Haven't swam for ages!! The last time I swam was last year before Bersatu if I'm not mistaken. No, the swimming at Aquatica swim school isn't counted. I walk most of the time. Don't do laps. So yeaa.. the swim was good.

Fish n chips for lunch accompanied by a movie - Goal! I fell asleep halfway though. Hehehehe... No, not coz it was boring. Was just tired. The actor was hot. I'm gna have to watch it again! Mum and dad came back around 3 and then we went on skype with my aunt. My cousin's kid - Joash was on skype as well. That lil monkey is so so so adorable. And and.. he sang me happy birthday! So cute!!! English and chinese version. Ahhhhh!!I was just grinning the whole time!!

In the evening before dinner, I followed mum to uncle justin and aunty tini's house to get satay sauce recipe coz aunty tini works in Waipuna. Little did I know, a surprise was waiting for me. A nicely decorated cake with an edible dolphin sculpture. And what cake is it you may ask? Durian cake!!! Ahhhhhh!!! Uncle justin works for Eve's pantry and he made a cake specially for me. So nice!! Not only the cake looked nice but also tasted so good. Durian somemore!! So so so happy!!!! A lovely couple they are indeed. Even gave me an ang pow. Wahhhhhhh!!!

Next, it was off to city to pick Rachel up from britomart, Pui Li and Su Ping from 96 before heading to my birthday dinner at Gina's! Why Gina's you may ask? Coz of Celest's blog who had her bday there and I so wna see those italian waiters for myself!!

The people who were there: me, pui li, suping, siew aun, rachel, shaun, uda, darren, wei en, sheng, boon, dallas, audrey, gjin, ken and peiyun, kevin, alex, adrian who came for dessert.

The servings were rather small for my big appetite but the taste was there. Our waiter.... he wasn't that hot but he made it up with his rather crazy, entertaining and funny character. And and.... he SO was hitting on mama san and rachel. Wooott wooot!! Hahaha!! I reckon' those workers in the kitchen were hotter. Why la do they have to hide in the kitchen? Lol!!

The atmosphere... simply superb! Not a place for quiet dining that's for sure. It was loud loud loud and lively the whole time. Never for a moment will you feel bored. If not cheering/shouting, the workers will be singing. Our table had our fair share of singing as well. For some random reason, our waiter asked us to sing our national anthem for them. So us Malaysians, having the biggest table in the restaurant, stood up and sang Negaraku. Lol!! Man, random I tell you but never had I had so much fun singing Negaraku. Haha! And in return, they sang theirs for us.

There were two other birthdays going on at the same night as well so we heard the birthday song three times!! For dessert, me, rachel and shaun shared a tiramisu cake and some vanilla ice cream with a shot of kahlua. I had two shots from mama san. And a flaming shot from ... from the other side of the table i.e. boon, darren, pui li, suping, wei en, sheng's side. Haha! Must be from them la.. The flaming shot came with the birthday song. And that came right after the lemon chillo shot from audrey.

I never had a flaming shot before and I was kinda freaked out when it came. I was like.. can you even drink it?? I obviously was still conscious and still thinking for sure!! Blew the flame out and drank it. My face was so red after that. Well, it was already red after the first shot. I could feel it man. But at least heart rate was still normal and I felt fine. My breath smelt like alcohol though. And the tiramisu and vanilla ice cream with kahlua did not help at all.

To add on to the redness of my face, our wiseman, Darren, just had to make it even redder. He asked the waiter to give me a kiss!! No, not a kiss, it was two kisses! One on the left, one on the right. Ahhhhhh!!! If only he didn't have pokey beard and if only it was one of the workers in the kitchen instead ... bluekk... next time my guy mustn't have a beard!! Thanks la darren....hahaha!!

I think Boon is having just as much fun as I am... or maybe even MORE!

After dinner, headed home straight as it was a Monday night and I still have my curfew. No, I did not drive. Siew Aun drove me home... hehehe...all good. I am not a bloody idiot :p

Reached home and open up my presents before heading to bed. Thanks la you all!! You guys didn't have to but .... thanks!!!!!

Overall, I had a great 20th birthday. It was way better than expected. Turning twenTEEN ain't that bad afterall.

Thanks Shaun, Sharvin, Dallas, Gjin, Audrey, Boon for being there to witness me being showered with eeky yucky stuff during netball

Thanks my other half, Swannie who called me all the way from Msia at midnight :D Jeremy who called me during the dinner to wish me happy birthday:) My 2nd and 4th auntie, cousin and Joash, who called me from Singapore to wish me.

Thanks Pui Li, Su Ping, Siew Aun, Rachel, Shaun, Uda, Darren, Wei En, Sheng, Boon, Dallas, Audrey, Gjin, Ken and Pei Yun, Kevin, Alex, Adrian for dining with me on my birthday.

And thanks to those for the lovely wishes be it email, MSN, SMS, facebook ...
Shaleeni, Yi Wen, Caris, Matt, Vanesa, Assunta, Celest, Henry, Roger, David, SJ, Jun Bin, Jasmin, Jeanette, Kien, Christine, Rayvin, Yin, Foong, Alison, Ivan sim, Farah, Alicia, Charlotte, Li Yenn, Susan, Joseph, Vivian, Serena, Evangeline, Celia, Sham, Denise, Samantha, Emerson, Amy, Josh, Ivan sheak ... and last but not least... my love, Ah Nat, who couldn't be there in person for my birthday but her SMSes and her love was always there. I could feel you my love! Ahahaha!! David gna kill me now :p
Hope I didn't miss anyone out, if I did, sorry!!!

Also thanks to Siew Aun who came all the way from Tokoroa and took two days of leave just for my birthday and sorta making me celebrating my birthday. If he didn't come up, I think I wouldn't have organized a dinner for my birthday. Thank you!!!

And and... thanks to uncle justin and auntie tini for the lovely dolphin cake ... mummy, daddy and koko for the lovely early birthday dinner and being such a great family :D

And.... to myself ... for being alive for 20 yrs and enjoying it to the fullest and still staying young and still being a teenager :p because in sher mayne's world, i am still one! Remember.. its's twenTEEN!

happy valentine's day to...

Happy Valentine's Day to...

I caught my fish! I caught my fish!!!

On the eve of Valentine's Day ...

I caught my very first fish. They say there are many fishes in the sea. So why did I take so long to catch one? Coz..... it's not that easy. Gotta have patience ... and wait...

If it's not the right one, you have to throw him back into the sea ... and wait...

Wait for the right one to swim to you...

I guess I was rather lucky on the eve of Valentine's...

I was waiting patiently for Mr.Fishy. And finally.... he swam to me ... I caught him ... I am one happy, lucky girl :)

So who's the lucky fish?

teeeheee :p not so lucky afterall eh?

He ended up as my dinner at 11pm. Super fresh fish. Caught by yours truly. It can't get any fresher than this. I cleaned it, steamed it, and ate it. Ohhh so good!!

Bwahahahahahhaha!! gotcha!!! did I? I'm sure I did for some of you.

Thanks Audrey and Bronson for taking me fishing and letting me catch my very first fish that is edible!!!!

Apart from that... I caught a huge mussel which at first I thought it was a rock ....

The shell was the size of my hands

The biggest mussel I ever eaten!! Sorry Audrey, it can't be used as bait... I ate it :p

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you out there, my lovely lovely friends :) Muakxxxxxxx

last weekend being 19

Pre-Bday

My last weekend being 19 (I could say last weekend being a teenager but in Sher Mayne's World, I am still a teen ... TwenTEEN :P)


Friday
As bro will be leaving for LA for his MCC on Sunday, hence we celebrated my birthday earlier. I get to pick the place. Didn't want Jap which we always go to for birthdays. So I decided ... La Mama Cafe it is. Haven't been there but I always pass it during my runs. It is located along Eastern Beach, just 5 mins drive from my place. The view ... beautiful. Just beautiful. That's why I love running along the beach :p

For starters...

some salad thingy with prawns and pasta

thai salad with beef and satay sauce and crispy noodles

I .... ate the salad. Not only the beef and the prawns but also the greens. It was rather tastey I must say. Must be the sauce. Must be! Teehee :p

For the mains ....

Dad's seafood platter...

Bro's Spanish Tapas with king prawns ...

My pork dish with creamy sauce, mashed potatoes and carrots...

Mum had a rack of lamb. We ordered it after we got the above three meals because we realized we won't have enough. So ermm.... it came after we finished our meals and ermm... yea... i forgotten to take a photo of it coz.... it was just so tempting and irresistable....

Enjoyed the meal very very much. Love it. Though the serving looked small, we were pretty much bloated after it. Heeheee... I think it's coz of the sauce :p

After dinner, mum and dad walked home, bro and I headed to city to pick Siew Aun up who came up for the weekend from Tokoroa for my birthday! He who purposely took leave for Monday and Tuesday just to stay for my birthday. Aren't I just lucky? Hehehe :p

Reached home and we had cake. Tiramisu cake. Not that tasty I must say. Not that nice. So yeaaa.. that's how my 20th bday celebration with my family was.


Saturday
Got a text from Darren saying the pot luck was cancelled as Mag's grandma passed away. My condolences to Mag and family. May she rest in peace :)

Bro left pretty early for MCC training hence I had to entertain siewaun for the day. Was meant to go kayakking on Monday but weather forecast for Monday was bad hence we decided to go on Saturday. After a late breakfast, it was off to Okahu Bay. We got a single sea kayak each for half day. Kayakked all the way till the end of St. Heliers and back. Record yo!! I remembered the furthest I ever went was up till the end of Mission Bay.

We returned the kayaks one hour earlier and to our surprise. they gave us a $5 refund each!!! Score!!!!! Didn't even know there's such thing. But hey! No complaints... no complaints at all!!

Went to food alley after that coz we were starving. Didn't have lunch and it was 3 something. After "lunch", it was to Audrey's place for fishing!!! We reached at 5 but fishing was at 7.30. I took a rather long nap with Audrey whilst siew aun and bronson were dota-ing. If you're still wondering how my swimming friend know audrey and bronson... a rather simple answer : Dota. lol!

Came 7.30, we da bao-ed (take away) food from KL cafe and headed to the fishing place. Night fishing yo!! So excited. Never gone fishing in my life!!! The place was located out west. A wee bit pass Waitakere ranges. When we reached the wharf, us malaysians started taking out our laksa and char kuey teow and EAT. Insted of feeding the fishes, we were feeding ourselves first. Bronson's mum started fishing first whilst we were eating in the dark.

The place was beautiful with its cool breeze. If it was during the day, I would so just jump in and swim. The sky that night was clear filled with so many stars. They looked rather low and it seemed as if you can reach your hands up and touch the stars.

Ok ok.. back to the fishes. We were there till past midnight. Audrey caught a rather big fish but the line snapped. So not counted. I caught.... someone's broken line/jumk. Bronson's mum caught many many many many EELS! And no, they do not look like UNAGI! They looked like super huge humongous earthworms!! So geli!!! Think she caught one or two baby fishes also. Bronson caught an eel as well which was right in front of siew aun's face when he reeled it in. So by the end of everything, I have second thoughts on jumping in and swim. Eeewwww!! Eels make. Like some water snake only.. EEeeEEeeEE!!!

By the time I got home, it was 1 something, close to two. Siewaun dropped dead in bed without showering. Yuckss!!! I showered and slept around 2 something.

A huge thanks to audrey and bronson for inviting us to fishing!!! Though I did not catch any, I SOOO want to go again!!!! I wanna catch a fish!!!!

Sunday

Morning, woke up. Weather was rather crappy. Texted shaun and he said no matter what, we'll still be playing netball. So many people pulled out. Only the strong men and women survived and was still up for netball. Haha!! It's been two weeks since the last netball hence I really wanted to play.

Got there and the court was wet and slippery. But, we still played on. Only 8 of us - me, siewaun, shaun, sharvin, dallas, boon, gjin, audrey. Nevertheless, we still had heaps of fun playing half court. Lolx!!

At the end of the game.... finally I realized why shaun said no matter what, netball will still be on. And I also realized why sharvin surprisingly was still up for netball despite the weather.

The video tells everything ....

The culprits: Sharvin, Shaun, Dallas, Gjin, Swannie all the way back in msia, Nat who was still sleepy on that morning n didn't come, wei en, sheng, henry, roger who knew it was gna happen but didn't tell me!

The victim: Me la....

The ingredients: strawberry milk, soy milk, coke, mango tea, eggs, water .... Feathers ... Flour

Verdict: I got owned and a taste of my own medicine!!!

Thanks guys. Thank you very much. I was indeed drenched with that sweet smelling mixture which stinked so bad after that. Thank goodness I pass on going to Mission bay after netball. Those evil monkeys wanted to throw me in the sea!!!! Basketttt...not enough is it?? Wanted to wrap my car with toilet paper also.. Wahlau!!! And thanks to nature, I wore my not so good shoes that day. It stinks so bad man!! Shirt and shorts were fine. Came home, showered and put heaps of shower gel on the shirt before putting it into the washing machine. It smells good now :p

After netball, siewaun followed audrey for more fishing. Must be tak puas from the night before. Haha!! I went home, had lunch and then it was sending my bro off to the airport. Came home, took a nap after that.

At night, went to city for a short hulu cat session with darren, audrey, bronson and siewaun. Thanks darren for shouting me bubble tea! But don't think you can get away with the bet ya!! Still waiting for my chocolate boutique treat. Nyehehehehehehe :p

So there you go. My last weekend being 19. It was rather eventful I must say. Way more than I expected it to be. Thanks to all of you who were there to make it so memorable. Definitely will remember my last weekend being 19.
Dining by the beach, kayakking, fishing, netball, milky & eggy morning shower, hulu meow meow... thank you!!!

Will write up my bday post another day.Those who took pics during the dinner, please send them to me!!!!! Please please!! thank you!!!!

happy chinese new year

Happy Chinese New Year!!!!!

Wishing all of you a joyous and prosperous year ahead!!! A year filled with good luck, good fortune, good health and Happiness!!!

the front door..i cut that word out!!!

I miss spending chinese new year back home. Though my whole family is all here, it is still different. I miss painting the pillars of the house a few days before cny. Climbing ladders and getting my shirt all dirty. I miss the fact that on every cny eve, mum would be cooking the whole day and I will be sticking up chinese new year cards around the house, climbing up the ladder to hang up the red lanterns. I miss going to the movies after our reunion dinner to waste time and help us stay awake till 12am to "jie cai shen" (welcoming the fortune god), as well as other god like the happy god, lucky god, the god for good health and so forth. I miss taking the joss stick and waving it around, close to 360 degrees to welcome all the gods except for the bad ones.

I miss waking up on cny day, with a huge smile on my face, stepping into the shower, making sure I don't wash my hair as if you wash your hair on cny day, you are said to be washing all the luck away. I miss putting on my new clothes. I miss running to my parents bedroom after that to "bai nian" and say all the nice, flowery words in chinese before getting my angpow. I miss travelling under the hot sun, going to my uncle's house, where the wife would make super nice noodles and soup for us. I miss drinking 100 plus and eating keropok, munching on peanuts, eating all the new year cookies, black jacks, listening to all the big adults talk. I miss them saying how I have grown every year. I miss kajang satay in which we would eat before heading home.

I miss going to my neighbour's house at night to get ang pow. I miss house hopping. I miss having mummy's friend coming over and giving us ang pow. I miss hearing those illegal fireworks being lit behind my house. I miss going to Singapore to visit my aunties and get even more ang pows, eating even more and more black jacks.

All of these..... every year... the same thing .... the same routine. But, it's a routine that I always look forward to since I was a little kid. I just love those feelings.

But this year... I didn't get to do all of the above. But heyy!!! being able to spend it with family is what matters right? Though I admit the mood isn't as much as if we're back home but nevertheless...there were still some festive mood. With mum cooking the whole day on cny eve, and me using the limited amount of leftover red packets that we have to decorate the house. Need to add a lil cny mood to the house, right? Instead of painting the house, I cleaned the house. Wiped the windows, vacuumed, throw the rubbish before cny. Dinner was great with dishes my mum only cook ONCE a year. Ate till I can't even walk.

Despite having to work on cny day, dinner that night was still awesome. Like all cny the past few years, we ate the leftovers from the previous night. As the saying in chinese goes "nian nian you yu" ...which in celest's text stated "year year got fish"..... it means every year you gotta have leftovers, those leftovers are savings :) So ... it applies the same thing for food too!! Hahaha! We had a late dinner. A long dinner. With a long conversation in which us as family haven't been doing for quite some time. From finding a good lady and a good man to what our new year resolution is for this year. And dad being the funny guy all the time came up with funny answers which made the conversation a whole lot crazier! Ohhhh...there was wine involved as well so...yeaa...... Overall, good convo la....haha!!

the staircase after entering the house....

So yeaa...that's my cny over here. 13 more days of cny to go. Let's see if I can get at least another ang pow. haha!! In my dreams I guess...hehehehe!!!

Those in Malaysia collecting ang pow, split half with me k? I will be collecting from you :)
Sharing is caring ;) Ehehehehhee.....

satay prep

It's just the beginning... lantern festival prep

What a weekend! A weekend of chicken... chicken... and MORE chicken ...

Me, being the usual chicken lover is so sick of chicken right now. Came back home today and mum had chicken laksa and I for once did not eat the chicken!

This weekend was satay prep weekend for the lantern festival in 3 weeks time. Guys, please come to the UMSA stall and support us from the 22-24 February!!

Saturday
Reached city at 8.30. Adrian dropped off 65kgs of chicken breasts at roger's at 96 and 15kgs to angie's at princeton to be washed. The smell was ...... luekkkk... and the breasts felt.... like chicken breasts la! Haha!! After the washing was done, the princeton people i.e. adrian, angie and andrew came over to 96. Had quite a number of lovely, wonderful wiser ones/non-committee that came and help out - celest, jasmin, pui li, shaun, sharvin, cheryl. Next, it was the skinning of the chicken and slicing them into tiny pieces. By lunch time, the marinating for the first batch of 55kgs of chicken was done. We had KFC for lunch. Of all things ... KFC.. why o why? But... it was good KFC... yummy!! Celest's recommendation of coleslaw with mash potatoes is super duper yummy.

Adrian left after delivering the KFC. After lunch, the chickens that were being stored in the freezer were skewered, went through quality control checking and then packaged. As we ran out of lemon grass powder for the second batch, I had to walk to Lim Chour to find some more. Tough luck. Couldn't find any. Then went to Mercury. Unlucky as well. Then I caught the LINK bus to Taiping to get it. But .... there weren't any. Basketttt...wasted 1.60 for nothing. Decided to walk back to 96 from there. No way am I wasting anymore money!

In the evening, andrew left for work and angie had to do her essay since she's doing summer school. Thank goodness for even MORE lovely people who came and help skewer the satays - david, dallas, irvin, irvin's bro's -shaun. The committee members were definitely outnumbered by the non-committees. Felt so paiseh. But.. thanks guys!!! Really really appreciate all of your help. Definitely will not be able to do it without you all! I can't thank you all enough. By midnight, there were 8 of us left - me, roger, celest, jasmin, pui li, sharvin, shaun, dallus. After all the cleaning up, we had bubble tea. Lolx! Shaun was craving for it so much eh! Well, I was too ... and jasmin!! and I bet the others as well!! Hahaha!! The cleaning up took pretty long though. But all were there waiting.. waiting to drink the bubble tea. The chilly bins that were used to transport the raw chicken stinked like nobody's business. Should have washed it right after taking the chicken out. But no.. we had to leave it there till the end of the day to only wash it. Yuckss!! Was holding my breath when I was washing it. Stinks man!! bluekkkk.... At least there was the bubble tea to reward us at the end. Haha!

The night ended at 3am as celest, jasmin and I were still chit chatting after going back to their apartment. Thanks celest and jasmin for letting me stayover!!!!

It was a tiring day indeed. 80kgs of chicken. Mission accomplished. Lots of funny, silly moments occured, especially towards the night. I blame exhaustion and Coke. But what happens at 96, stays at 96 k? please please please..

Sunday
Woke up at 9.30 when I heard that the chicken arrived. Ahhhh...more chicken!!! 40 kgs this time though. Half the amount. The same whole process was being repeated again. Man, I really wonder how those satay sellers in msia actually can stand looking at chicken everyday!!!!
Today there were more of us committee than non-committees. It was me, nat, shamaz, roger, adrian, kenneth and andrew. Non-committees were yam, david, gjin and shaun.

This time, no lunch. Luckily shamaz made some onde onde to try out. ahhh!! some food for me. Not enough though. That explains another lil incident that happened.... haha!

Managed to finish everything by 5 something. The place was all cleaned up by 6. Home by 7. Again, mission accomplished. Phew!!!

What a weekend eh?
Lots of funny, silly moments throughout the whole process. A lil bit of tension but ... what's new huh? At the end of the day, what we were meant to do were done, and that's all that matters. Forgive and forget.

This is just the prep for lantern festival. This is just the beginning. One down and many more to go. Can la can.. i say can means can!!!

Once again, to all of you who came and help out this weekend during the satay prep. Thank you so so so so much!!! I really really really appreciate it. You guys rock!!!!