Floriade long weekend

Roy and I went to the Floriade this weekend. It was very relaxing for the both of us.

Pink & Purple tulips is my favourite =)

This is my second favourite!!

hehe.. when we were leaving the Floriade to go and pick up our car..

With my favourite yellow tulips :-P

After we finished at the Floriade, we went to C & T's place to stay the night. T had planned to take us to a couple of different places and show Roy and I around Canberra. It was such a beautiful day. I like Canberra. There's so much greenery and the lakes are so pretty. I don't think I would mind living there =)

Saturday@balmoral

Roy and I had a very happy day today. We went to Balmoral for lunch. We were starving when we got there. We ordered a fishermans basket to share. Took it away and ate along the beach but after we finished it, we still weren't full, so we went back to the Fish & Chip shop ordered a crumbed fish with chips. We were pretty much holding our tummy's when we finished it. ;P

Trying to be artistic..hehe

After spending the day at Balmoral, we went back to my place. Took my car for a wash at a self - serve carwash up in Dural. Then came back, had dinner, and I did a facial for Roy, using my Jurlique Mask. Now his skin is super soft :)

Today was a super nice and relaxing day!!

Fly me to the moon

Last night, Roy and I went to watch the Imax movie "Fly me to the Moon". It's such a cute and funny movie, and a movie that will make me think twice when trying to kill or smack a fly :P

Recommended to watch: FLYMETOTHEMOON

I had a pretty stressful morning at work and watching it just made me laugh and relax and forget everything that's happened in the morning. =)

Thanks Hunnie ~

Spring

I love Spring!! I love the warm sunny weather!!
Can't wait for daylight savings!!

A little boo boo

Today was a very funny day =)

Roy had booked tickets to watch "Fly me to the Moon" at IMAX. I thought it was booked for today, the 16th. I told Roy it was for the 16th, and he put that into his calendar. Roy didn't check the date on the tickets, assumed it was today. When we got to IMAX for a 6pm movie, the guy at the counter told us it was for the 23rd, next Tuesday. We both couldn't stop smiling how we made such a boo boo hehe

We ended up sitting in Darling Harbour, chatting and watching the sky go from light to dark. From Darling Harbour, we walked to Argyle Hotel. It was a really nice and pleasant walk as well as building up our appetites for a yummy dinner.

It's the first time I've been to Argyle Hotel. It's very nice and cosy and has very comfy & relaxing lounges. We had dinner there and Roy recommended the 1kg pot of spicy chicken wings and their deep fried prawn ceasar salad. It was yummmm. The spicy chicken wings were freshly fried, crunchy, juicy and steaming hot.

The ceasar salad was yumm tooo ~ Great recommendations Roy =)

After our dinner, we had 3 options. Walk back to Sussex Street to pick up our car, bus it, or cab it. We decided to cab it, but we saw a bus, it dropped us off outside World Square, so we quickly jumped on the bus. It's the first time Roy and I caught the bus together. It felt like we were doing a tour of the city =)

It was such a great night !!

And yes, I did bring my camera this time, and yes, it was charged too :P

Our yummy prawn ceasar salad

mmh.. does this pot look like a mussell pot?? Abit misleading hey? hehe

Ta-da !!! Yummmmy chicken wings - Better than wicked wings, I'd say :P

Satisfaction

I had a meeting with my boss yesterday afternoon. I was very happy because:
1. He was very happy with my performance and praised me for my efforts.
2. He mentioned a possible promotion in March 09.
3. I have met my quarterly targets & in bonus territory now.

I feel a high level of satisfaction in my job.

I feel happy when I am able to help people with their finances.
I'm happy when I can help them protect themselves and their families.
I'm happy when I can help them with Estate Planning so it would give them a peace of mind that everything is under control.
I'm happy when I can help clients work towards achieving a desired target at retirement.
I'm happy when I help clients with their investments.
I'm happy when I can train and educate my staff to understand more about Financial Planning.

The greatest reward is getting praises from collegues who pass on their clients to me to meet, from my boss and most importantly, my own clients.

6 months back in Sydney

I was reminded by Roy that I haven't blogged in a while... and yes, it has been a couple of weeks. He suggested that perhaps I was happy, that's why I haven't blogged. When he first said that, I thought ".. no, I would blog when I'm happy.." but then I realised what he said was partly true.

I have been feeling quite happy lately. I've been back to Sydney for 6 months now. I've settled very well. Sometimes it feel's like I haven't left. I feel like i'm back into routine... back into climbing (with Roy climbing with me too!), i've joined the gym, which i've been trying my very best to go 2-3 times a week. Works very smooth **touchwood**, of course, it has it up and downs but generally it's very smooth.

Sometimes I do miss Hong Kong... miss it alot. I miss the eating and shopping and my friends there. Sometimes, I feel like going back , I miss my freedom and living on my own. But I know I won't. =)

I feel like i'm working hard and enjoying life at the same time. Going to movies, spending time with Roy, our families and friends. Going to see musicals, nice romantic dinners and watching plays.

On Saturday night, we watched Saturn's Return. A very nice play. Very different, yet very enjoyable. Roy booked dinner at The Wharf Restaurant. It was such a nice restaurant, that over looks the water and the harbour bridge. We had white wine mussells and salt and pepper squid. It was very nice!! We also had a passionfruit creme caramel, tangy and soury, and a chocolate hazelnut mud cake with ice cream. The mud cake was yumm..it was warm, and melted as it touched your tongue. Unfortunately, Roy forgot his camera, I remembered to bring mine, but it had no battery, so we didn't take any pics. I'll have to remember to keep my camera charged all the time =)

Family Fun

Today is a super happy special day for me.

Today my mum, Mike & I went to the gym together at Fitness First. We went on the treadmill next to each other. Mike on one side of me and my mum on the other side. I was in the middle. The feeling of family happiness and family warmth, family togetherness made me feel so happy.

As my brother ran, I couldn't stop smiling. He would look over at me and smile and ask me what I was smiling at. For the whole 30 mins, I couldn't help but smile. I had a silly smile pasted on my face the whole time I was on the treadmill. hehe =)

Afterwards, we went for a sauna and we had the whole room to ourselves. Talking and laughing and sweating heaps. It was sooo much fun. =)

I wish we can do this more often!!!! I am super happy today!!

Pineapples!!!

I LOVE PINEAPPLES!!!

But they are so hard to find!! I've been subtly looking for them everywhere I go. I remember loving them in highschool and early uni days but nowadays they seem so hard to find. I used to be able to get a big bag whenever I go to watch movies because they only sold them in the candy bar there. Now, they only have fake ones. You really need to be a fan to distinguish the difference between them. The fake ones are not "Allens" and are really plasticy.

Today I walked past a Candy store in Epping and found them. I was so happy and excited !!
These ones are real and when I was talking to the boss about the fake ones - he totally agreed with me. We were on the same level. We were on the same page.

He told me that there are suppliers who have approached him to sell the fake ones at a cheaper price but after he tasted them, he felt it tasted like plastic. EXACTLY the same as me!! =)

Nothing beats real pineapples. They are just too good =)

Phantom of the Opera

Roy and I went to watch Phantom of the Opera. We watched an 8pm session on 8/8/08. The show was fantastic and we both enjoyed it alot.
Before the show, we went to Pyrmont's Steak & Seafood Restaurant for dinner, which is just above the Lyric Theatre. I had a salmon, Roy had chicken and we both had a mango mousse dessert. YUMMM =)




It was a really really great night. =)

First day of being a year older

I had a pretty happy birthday this year.


Most importantly, I'd like to thank my friends for all their birthday wishes - those who called, sms'ed, left facebook messages and the special ones who called from overseas.

The Saturday leading up to my birthday, RL came over and made me a very yummy lentil & vegetable soup for dinner & an almond & mascapone dessert. =)


Sunday, had a very nice Peking dinner with my family at Mr Chows Peking Restaurant in Kent St. They are famous for their siw long bau's and their salted egg yolk kind prawns. We also tried their salted egg yolk soft shell crab. That was scrumptious tooo =)


I felt really really happy today because this year is the first year my brother has "officially" bought me a birthday present with his own hard earnt money. My super sweet brother bought me a 60 second fix hand treatment from Crabtree & Evelyn. It's not the receiving the present that makes my heart smile. It's the thought of my baby brother, going into Crabtree & Evelyn, wanting to buy handcream for his sister, only to realise their was sooo many to choose from when the sales assistant showed him his choices. When he said "man.. I didn't realise there was so many types of handcreams to choose from.. it was quite embaressing because I didn't really know much about them".. just made me giggle. How cutee!!


Monday* went to work and RL took me to my favourite Italian Restaurant. Criniti's. =)
This time, instead of having the apple crumble pizza for dessert, we had the banana pizza. It was yumm... pictures to follow because it was taken on RL's camera.

Today, Andrew and I had dinner at Maitre Karl. A french restaurant that I really like as well in Willoughby. Their food is divine. We had a pinenut & pumpkin salad, Tartee Flambee with swiss mushrooms, parmesan & truffle oil and Nurnberg pork sausages with mash potato, sauerkraut, flamed grapes in red wine. To top it off, I had my favourite Espresso Creme Brulee and Andrew had a baked poached pear with ice cream for dessert. soooo satisfied!!!



ooh... and I also splurged on 3 pairs of new shoes today!!! hehehe

"Take 2" ??

Have you ever done something that you've regretted? Something that you wished that you have never done? Or wished you found out abit more before you've done something?
Well, I have. And now I really really regret it.
I feel ultra crap... and now I feel like i'm going to lose a friend too.

A relaxing Sunday at Manly

RL and I had a very spoilt Sunday!! It was well deserved for both of us. A very very busy week for me at work, and RL studying very hard for his exam, which he did very well in and passed yesterday.

We had a nice, relaxing and yummy brunch on the beach at Narabeen, looking out into the water, watching kids run and play. The quality time that we spent together was the best. Then for afternoon tea, we went to Max Brenner at Manly. RL had a hot chocolate with waffle balls and I had the hot chocolate with marshmellows - plus a waffle with strawberries, banana and vanilla ice cream to share. yummmmmm =)

Bec and Kev back in town

Kev's birthday drinks at Crystal Bar and Belgian Beer Cafe mussels with Becs & K.

Yummmmm =)

Friends

Great friends are hard to find and hard to keep.
I'm thankful for the efforts we make to keep our friendship close and deep.
The long emails that we write to keep each other up to date, even though we're ultra busy at work and there's probably 10 other emails that need to be replied.
The support that we get even though we're in different countries and the special bonding we have even though we haven't seen each other in months - doesn't seem like much filling in needs to be done because we're pretty much up to date with each others latest goss =)

People who don't listen

I absolutely find it extrememly annoying working with people who don't listen. How many times do I need to tell the BDM of Asteron that a ppxt file won't work on my computer. I told him 4 times, in which he did reply my email - which means, he did read & recieve it.. but he comes to our office, puts in his usb drive and the presentation file is still a ppxt file.

I can't stand people who are unorganised, who don't read properly and don't register what other people are saying. Being in a management role, listening is such a crucial task - some people obviously simply can't master it.

What was even more annoying was that he didn't even bother to make some hard copies. Never again would I ask him to do a presentation for us. Nor would I put any of my clients through Asteron. My first impression of them wasn't great. Now it's at zero.

Detoxing

I have finally and have promised myself that the 10th of July is the date I will start my detox program for 15 days. I will not procrastinate any longer. I really will not.

Happy as I have been, I've finally joined the gym. It's been something i've been meaning to do since I laid my foot in HK, but no, it didn't happen. Now back in Sydney, I've finally motivated myself to join. T challenged me and don't believe that I will go. Now i've got his voice ringing in my head saying "yeh right, as if you'd go".... I've promised T, that I will be going 4 times a week for the next 4 weeks. Let's see how I go. The first week starts next week =)
He's placed a bet on me. I better not lose!!

I've already printed class timetables, highlighted them and have them stuck on my wall !! I can't wait to start!!

Criniti's

Thinking of dinner at Criniti's make me smile. One of my favourite restuarants - famous to me for their yummy pizza desserts. Ones that I loved is the nutella pizza (nutella melted on pizza with vanilla sugar icing) and the banana pizza (topped with fresh banana's, 3 big scoops of vanilla gelato and snothered with hot caramel syrup).

On Tuesday night, RL and I were "supposed" to go climbing, but we didn't end up going so he came over to Parra to have dinner with me. Where did we go? RL wanted soup & pie - we pretty much walked the whole heart of Parramatta and the only restaurant/cafe that served soup & pie was City Extra. I remember it was years and years ago, uni days, when City Extra used to be our hang out place because it was open 24 hours. I was never keen with their dinners, drinks were ok, desserts were average.

Hence, we ended up going to Criniti's!! We ordered a arena woodfired calzone which had prosciutto, ricotta, sun dried tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and eggplant. We then ordered a apple crumble delight pizza for dessert. It was soooo yummy. now.. read this.. freshly sliced apples, smothered with vanilla syrup and biscuit crumble, oven baked, served with 3 big scoops of vanilla gelato... is it making you drool ??
This is what our apple crumble pizza looked like - half eaten!! hehe =)

We had a really great night and left Criniti's holding our stomachs with plans to go again for afternoon tea just for pizza desserts!! (no dinner plus a walk after to burn off the dessert hehe)

Yummy petite dessert ~

We were at St Ives today and bought this yummy petite dessert platter.. lemon tarts, honey - caramel and chocolate profiteroles, fruit tarts and mini chocolates. =)

Asthma. Exercising. Competition

I'm not the type of person who needs peoples approval for things that my health allows and don't allow me to do. I don't need people to say, it's not my fault I can't do certain sports and it's ok.
Asthma has been part of my life and it's never been something that has bothered me. I've grown to accept it when I was a little kid, and aware of what sports I need to stay away from, which sports will trigger a shortness of breath, which sports I can do, but slower.

I don't compare myself to others in sports and I really don't care less if people are better than me. To me, sport is a leisure activity I enjoy doing with my friends who also enjoy the sport. It's not something competitive and it's definitely not showing off to see who's better. Of course, the more often you do it, the better you get at it, but it's not a competition. We don't count scores. We don't race each other. Someone has previously said to my friends and I " You guys play badmington like you're catching butterflies!!" - and this is something I enjoy. Having a good laugh, chat and play.

I don't like competing with people. I don't need to compete with my friends. I'm not a competitive person. I don't need to be the best and i've never had the "want" to be the best.

I've never gotten upset nor depressed with having Asthma. I don't need peoples empathy. I certainly don't need people to acknowledge that they accept it because I really don't care what other people think. There's no big deal. My friends who know have just accepted it. E.g. they know that there are certain air fragrances in their car that are very strong so before they come to pick me up, they take it out and open all the windows. They don't mention anything, and they don't need to, but I know and I appreciate it.

Some things don't need to be said. Actions are more valuable than words.