life

Our November pine cone anniversary

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november anniversary

It’s our November anniversary! 🙂 That’s one month from the end of the year and I remember how we started in Melbourne in February – one year from the start of the year. I wrote about How I Met Your Mother in Melbourne when we went to Australia for a trip earlier this year. I wanted to get her something to remind her of that.

raw kangaroo roast

I cooked her a kangaroo roast while staying at Citadines on Bourke, a serviced apartment that’s the second most expensive hotel we stayed in while we were there. The most expensive was Rydges on Swanston where we spent our second night there coz all the rooms were booked out – it was Formula One finals in Melbourne, and I didn’t know – the basic room cost AUD 680 per night (RM 2,100).

gordon ramsey duck

Anyway, we both cooked for each other this anniversary – I made Gordon Ramsey’s Pan Fried Duck with Parsnip Purée and Madeira Jus and she made a wonderful rosemary Chicken Maryland for me.

rosemary maryland chicken

She said it was the best dish I’ve ever cooked, counting the Poached chicken breast with beetroot and nectarine purée so I probably need to replace that in Best of sixthseal.com. Haha!

chef

I’ll write how I made the duck later. It was the most technical thing I’ve done to date…or according to my better half, the least technical, but the most delicious!

cone

Anyway, back to Melbourne, she really liked a pine cone that we found on Phillip Island but unfortunately we couldn’t bring it back.

pandora christmas 2013

Pine cones are everywhere back when I was in university. I started this blog in April 2002, back when I was still studying in Melbourne. I know that Customs might give us a hard time if we attempted to bring it back (they’re quite strict on plants and eggs which can introduce blight into the country) so I said I’ll get her one next time…

pandora pinecone

…and so I did. smirk

hair ring

I tried to tell her I didn’t get her anything and gave her a complimentary hair ring that was in the Fullerton Bay Hotel, Singapore room toiletries (quite a nice hotel). I don’t think she believed me though, coz I always say that each anniversary.

pinecone

This is from the Pandora Christmas 2013 Collection. It’s a pine cone with red accents and I got it for her as an anniversary gift and also an ode to our first vacation together.

pandora our story

I got a bit OCD and wanted the heart to face inwards so I fiddled with her charm bracelet a bit. Heh. It really does tell our story together. I’m lucky to have her in my life and I’m glad that we’re together.

Happy anniversary to us in the month of MOREvember! 😀

Him: Ramen Burger Dinner / Her: Expensive handbag

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pink handmade handbag

I have often joked with my better half that I won’t be able to buy her an expensive designer label handbag for at least for a couple of years. It’s a bit of an inside joke, she doesn’t want it from me but it has become a running gag for quite a while…so I decided to give her one on our anniversary.

It cost me all of RM 5.90. smirk

I saw this pink 3M corrugated board (it’s not cardboard) at Borders and decided to make an “expensive handbag” for her. It’s in her favorite color too! Haha!

3m pink corrugated board

I wrote:

VERY!!! EXPENSIVE (& big) HANDBAG

on the front and cut a 1” strip from the corrugated board to make a “handle”. I had to use multiple industrial grade staples and some 3M surgical tape to seal it too, it isn’t an easy material to work with. Inscribed on the other side is:

WARNING:

  • Sharp Edges Can Cut
  • Won’t Last Long
  • Very Flimsy

with arrows pointing to the top

expensive handbag

and:

SOUNDS BAD, BUT LOOK INSIDE DEAR!

with a crudely drawn quasi-logo and our anniversary date.

bag inside bag

It’s actually a bag inside a bag inside a bag!

pandora club member

It’s like those Russian nesting dolls that goes into each other. The first bag is my handmade one, the second is a Pandora paper bag, and inside that is their latest Autumn 2013 handbag charm! 🙂

pandora handbag

I have thought about doing this since last month and hope she didn’t notice the charm in the catalog. I am a Pandora Club member, which I hear will have benefits along the lines of 30% off later next year. I was told membership is automatic upon the purchase of RM 3,000 (didn’t even know I had amassed that much) and I have a feeling that a lot of the club members are not females but their boyfriends or husbands who gets it for them. I wonder what their marketing would make of that.

ling gift

My dear on the other hand laboriously made me a menu which is also about how we tend to celebrate our anniversary. It’s like a menu from one of those gourmet burger bars that’s all around but hers has an intriguing option:

ramen burger
Ramen noodle patties!

custom menu

I chose that along with the pork patty (menu says highly recommended and asked me to think thrice about ordering the beef patty haha). I also have toppings, sauces, drinks and dessert!

anniversary menu

She gave me a yellow smiley sticker to put on the handmade burger menu that she made to indicate what I wanted and she cooked me a very delicious dinner the next day!

pandora bag charm

I love my dear coz she’s always very thoughtful and I know that I’m very lucky to have her.

loving us

It was a great anniversary as always! You’re the best dear! *hugs*

Summer truffles, our own garden and chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches!

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tuber aestivum

This is what I got my better half for our anniversary! It’s summer truffles or Tuber aestivum. It’s not as good as white truffles or black truffles but it’s something I can afford without breaking the bank – a small chunk of Perigord black truffle the size of a snail can cost RM 2,000 – if you can find it!

white truffle aroma

I’ve never found truffles for sale here. I’ve seen olive oil infused with white truffle flavor (which usually costs around RM 100 for 200 ml) but that’s a very different thing. White truffle flavor isn’t white truffle, it’s synthetic, but it’ll make a good condiment (some people call it the mediocre chef’s crutch ;)). It tastes good and that’s what you get when you order thick cut truffle fries.

black truffle aroma

But there are actually no real truffles inside that bottle of olive oil. It’s just chemicals for flavor. One step up would be the 1% truffle oil infusions where you do get a few small shavings of truffles (equivalent to 5% fresh truffle) but is also rounded up with artificial truffle flavor and aroma.

truffle oil

This would usually set you back around RM 200 or so for a 200 ml bottle. I wanted to get this one actually since it has that distinctive truffle aroma I wanted my dear to taste.

However, I saw real summer truffles from Italy! It’s just 35 grams (50 grams if you include the water) and it comes in a tiny bottle that I thought would be perfect for a present!

summer truffles

I’ve wanted to get her some truffles since she’s never had them before. This is just about what I can afford right about now and I thought it’s nice to get real truffles for that price!

herb garden

My dear got me this! It’s a living garden – or rather a herb garden that she made and stuck with all sorts of notes. I love it!

(and also a toothbrush and hand washing liquid – she has a very practical side that I love)

I’ve been taking care of it ever since! I water it a little every day and give it some sun (recently started putting it outside at night so it’ll get some dew too). I thought it’s a perfect present, she’s always so thoughtful. We can now harvest our own herbs from our own garden! 😀

pandora autumn 2013

I also got her a Pandora charm from the new Autumn 2013 collection.

pandora charm

I thought this one was quite relevant and she said something that I felt quite happy about – the charm bracelet has our own story! I’m glad she liked it.

food processor

I also made dinner for her (more about that soon). It was a working day so I had to rush here and there, running about like a madman trying to get everything I needed.

cookie ice cream

It was a very nice anniversary that we rounded up with a nice chocolate chip cookie sandwich filled with ice cream from Good Humor.

hb ling 7th

I’m glad to have her in my life, it has brightened it much and I’m all the better for that! <3 pandora 2013

I love you dear! *hugs my dear*

Our wonderful anniversary: Burgers, durian mooncakes and home made gifts!

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sixth anniversary

It’s our anniversary today! 🙂

I had told my better half that I totally forgot about it, thinking it was Monday. I think I managed to really convince her I dropped the ball (all the better for my surprise) for once. Haha!

fat boy burgers

We have traditionally celebrated it the night before leading up to midnight. Last night, both of us were craving for burgers so we headed down to Publika. S.wine was booked 14 tables in so we headed to old faithful – Fat Boy’s.

This place has special significance to us and the burgers are good so since it was a special occasion, we custom-made our own burgers instead of getting one off the menu.

I had:

hb burger

Honey Oat Bun (RM 2)
Lamb Patty (RM 14)
Guacamole (RM 3)
Bacon (RM 3)
Fried Egg (RM 2.50)
Beetroot (RM 2.50)
BBQ Sauce (RM 1)

Total: RM 28 (with 4 add-ons!)

She had:

ling burger

Sesame Bun (RM 2)
Pork Patty (RM 11)
Coleslaw (RM 1.50)
Mozzarella Cheese (RM 1.50)

Total: RM 16 with just 1 add-on (she didn’t even want sauce!)

custom burger

It’s a stark contrast to our personalities – my burger was so large and messy it was more like eating a sloppy Joe. Yup, I always believe in eating burgers with the hands – it’s just a burger joint, it ain’t fine dining. I think a lot of the people here think Caucasians eat burgers with knifes and forks (and pizzas too for that matter – never fails to makes me chuckle). Burgers are meant to be grabbed with our hands so a huge bite can be take out of it! 😀

alcohol milkshakes

It’s a special day so I also ordered an “spiked milkshake” (contains alcohol) to share, which this place excels in. Burgers and milkshakes go together like cigarettes and lung cancer. smirk It’s just meant to be consumed together. I had previously enjoyed their Chocolate Malt Stout (combination of chocolate ice cream, malt, and stout for RM 18) but opted for the Bourbon Street today.

bourbon street

It’s a New Orleans style boozy shake with vanilla ice cream, malt, Nutella and bourbon for RM 23. We’ve always shared a drink together when we go out – the beverage I mean, we don’t drink alcohol much. Her policy (which I found rather charming) is to order one drink only and share that. It’s a good thing they have complimentary ice water here though. The milkshakes here are really thick – they’re generous with the ice cream – and full of malt!

bon odori

There was a Bon Odori festival going on and my dear wanted to check it out so that’s what we did after dinner. We bought a durian mooncake home. It’s RM 5.50 and about the size of a X-mini speaker. It’s tiny and it’s meant for our anniversary cake! 😀

brownie crush chips

We headed back after that and settled down to eat the durian mooncake with some good California chocolate ice cream and Seth Greenberg’s Authentic New York Brownie Crunch Toffee Chips. The latter is a wonderful concept – just the crispy edges of brownies, complete with endearing story of how the daughter only ate the edges, leading to the product’s inception – and costs RM 18.70 for a 113 gram bag. It’s a good topping for ice cream and fun to eat on it’s own too. We both thought the durian mooncake was mediocre though – tastes too much like dodol (durian paste) to me.

durian mooncake

My gf had wanted to book tickets to watch a movie but there’s nothing good going on that we haven’t seen so we went back to snuggle down and watch a movie at home. She handed me my anniversary gift at 11 pm.

It’s a beautiful hand made photo frame documenting our moments together! The “photo frame” started out life as a Godiva chocolate box and she even put a ribbon on top (for hanging) and an adhesive backed hanging clip! I really appreciate the time and effort she took to make this – it means much more to me than something you buy. Thanks for the awesome gift dear! <3 godiva photo frame

I said I’ll go and take a photo of it in the kitchen (where it’s brighter) and then sneaked back with a Naraya bag filled with gifts. I told her I haven’t forgot after all. Haha!

pandora heart charm

I don’t think I can pull this off much longer though. 😉

heart pandora charm

I got her a Pandora charm! I’ve been meaning to get her one for ages but I just bought an iPhone 5 for her so I had to save up for it. It’s a heart with a gold arrow going though it. I’ve been looking around for a meaningful one and I’m glad she liked it! It’s better than truffle oil, I hear. smirk

hand made card

I also made her a card, which used up 3 sticker packs and massive amount of double sided tape (one of the sticker packs wasn’t self-adhesive). She loved it, and I’m glad I can hand made (kinda) something for her, even though it’s not as awesome as the one she always makes for me.

half anniversary

Despite the apparent simplicity, it’s one of our best anniversaries! We had lots of fun together, enjoying each other’s company. Love each other and appreciate what you have in life. It’s something we both believe in! I’m lucky to have you dear! *hugs*

I was blown away!

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hb ling melbourne

This is a picture of me and my love in Melbourne. I remember the day very vividly, we had just arrived late the night before, crashed at a motel near the airport and came down to the city to explore the place. It was just after we’ve checked into Rydges @ Swanston and we’re just about to take a tram for breakfast at Hardware Lane.

It wasn’t the moment I fell in love with her (that was earlier in the year) but it was the moment I really knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.

hardware lane breakfast

The cool wind blowing during late autumn while we shared a Big M milk and some candy bars. Stamping our feet to try and keep warm while waiting for the tram. It was a great trip together and we later drove to Phillip Island where the wind was so cold and strong that we were both literally blown away. 😉

I’ve been on many other trips with her since then, from Siem Reap to Bangkok but nothing beats that first vacation to Australia.

ling hb

It’s quite a long story, how we met, and I know that she’s someone that I’ll be with for the rest of my life. I was not wrong. We’ve have our ups and downs and we went through it all like mature adults and I finally realized why all my previous relationships didn’t work.

She kept by my side through thick and thin and supported me during a dark period of my life. I also helped her through the things life throws at you and we’re much closer and stronger now because of it.

ling birthday

I don’t think either of our parents approved much at the beginning but after seeing us together, I like to think that both sides know that we care and love for each other. I love you dear! *hugs*

That’s my KDK “Blown Away Moments” Contest Entry. Well, technically, only the first two paragraphs are – it needs to be under 300 characters. 🙂

kdk blown away

KDK is giving away RM 3,000 cash to the winner of the contest. Just submit your “blown away” moment – your first date, your first concert, the day you got your result, or the day she said “yes”. It’s all about the happy moments in your life – the important ones that shaped your life, and you could stand to win the prizes above!

blown away

Surf on over to the KDK Facebook page and share your happiest moment in life with a photo by going to the Blown Away Moments app. Contest ends 30th July so get on it! There are weekly and a RM 3,000 grand prize! Here’s my entry – vote for me by clicking *here*! 🙂

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pool

I swim every other day – it’s convenient for me since I can just walk out of my studio apartment (sometimes in my swimwear) and press 13 in the lift for the rooftop and jump into the pool and start doing laps.

My dad is a huge believer in exercise. He’s well into his 60’s and he jogs every single day without fail. There’s a park near our house that he goes to – he doesn’t drive there, he walks there before starting to run laps around the track. The dude then walks back to complete his daily exercise routine.

He’s probably fitter than I am!

Scratch that, he *is* fitter than I am from all the daily runs he goes on.

golf not exercise

A lot of people will kill me for this, but golf is not exercise. Getting out and putting the ball with your 9 Iron before going back into the motorized golf kart just doesn’t cart it. 😉

Neither is gaming, although they call it “cybersports”. smirk

You want cardio – a sustained exercise that gets your heart pumping for a prolonged period of time for it to be beneficial to your heart. The former probably does wonders for your business contacts and the latter might be a great diversion but it doesn’t do anything for your health.

Swimming and running are easy ways that you can get some exercise. My family has always been big on jogging. My parents used to bring me and my sister out and encouraged us to jog. I hated it though, have always prefered the water so my dad runs with my sister while I swam with my mom when we were kids. Also if you are looking for medicare,medicaid,long term care insurance, learn more here.

family

We’re all at different locations now but it’s good to keep the tradition going. I was back in Sibu to vote during GE13 and my mom also flew in from Singapore. We started talking about exercise and how good it is – my dad has high blood pressure and my mom is fighting cancer so they’re both always looking at ways to improve health.

A healthy heart is important as a lot of Malaysians suffer from cardiovascular diseases. Expanding waist lines due to nasi lemak and teh tarik sessions combined with a sedentary lifestyle will come at the expense of your health.

sedentary

You want to live longer but you also want quality of life and that has been something my family has always found important. We’re always talking about the latest developments in “superfoods” and health supplements and one thing that has caught our interest is Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). CoQ10 is a naturally occurring substance e.g. found naturally in your body and it plays an important role for the health of almost all human tissues and organs.

CoQ10 has also been found to counteract the free radicals and the damage they cause to your body, and especially your heart. Your body will decrease its natural production of CoQ10 as it ages. Cholesterol is very susceptible to free radical damage, which leads to the formulation of a toxic derivative called oxidized LDL-cholesterol.

Simply put, CoQ10 is important as it inhibits (prevents) the oxidation of LDL-cholesterol (bad cholesterol).

The older you get, the more important CoQ10 supplements are as your body’s ability to synthesize CoQ10 declines with age.

coq10

I’m sure you all know about the benefits of fish oil and the Omega-3 fatty acids contained within. It’s considered an essential fatty acid e.g. something your body needs that it cannot synthesize by itself. Thus, it has to be in your diet or taken in supplements. It’s necessary for their anti-inflammatory effect and their boost to your immune function.

My mom takes Omega-3 supplements due to the radiotherapy and chemotherapy sessions she goes through for her small cell lung cancer (a type of cancer that affects people who doesn’t smoke). Chemo and radio leaves your body’s immune system vulnerable and that’s when you need supplements which can boost your immune system.

Blackmores produces several CoQ10 supplements. There’s pure CoQ10 in three (3) dosage forms – 50 mg, 75 mg and 150 mg. The amount you need depends on your age. They also have Omega-3 supplements in the form of Omega Cardiwell and Omega Active with high amounts of EPA and DHA.

Find out more about their products and interesting posts and articles on health and healthy living on their website and in the Blackmores Facebook. I love my parents and I want them to live longer – I want my family in the future to be healthy too – that’s the key to true happiness. 🙂

happy healthy

Taking supplements together with a healthy diet and exercise is the true key to not only living longer but having a better life! Make sure to check out this blog link it worked great for us. You can’t just depend on supplements just like you can’t just rely on exercise – it’s all part of a system for healthy living! 🙂

The cost of raising kids

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me kids

I was out last night with my girlfriend to do something for the next chapter of our life (which will be revealed soon enough) when we decided to do some last minute shopping. It was a school bag for Big E and it cost RM 168. (!!!)

It wasn’t a particularly expensive label – just a practical one with an Angry Birds image which Rovio certainly didn’t know about (if you catch my drift) and a set of wheels, which seem to be a necessity nowadays. She’s just 7 years old and already carries such a huge load of books. I was commenting about how expensive it is to raise a kid nowadays.

I want the kids (including my own in the future) to have a good education. I was sent overseas to Christchurch, New Zealand when I was 15 in 1996 to do my high school and completed my Bachelor’s Degree after 4 years of college and university in Melbourne, Australia. I can’t imagine how expensive that was for my parents but I can guess.

Kids nowadays are very lucky. I was talking about the sms lån with Arthur when I was in Sibu last time and both of us agreed that sms lån is a great help for anyone who needs the financial support for their tertiary education.

I want the kids and my future kids to have a good education but I was calculating how much it costs and it truly staggered me. I don’t dare to think about tertiary education, just getting by would cost a lot of money nowadays with tuition fees being as high as they are.

I like the idea of the study loan. It allows everyone to get an opportunity for a tertiary education provided they meet the academic requirements. I don’t think that’s a problem for the kids or my future kids, with liberal application of the magic wand. smirk

I’m kidding, I don’t believe in corporal punishment.

However, it does make me feel better to know that there’s the chance to go to university for all citizens up thanks to the PTPTN study loan.

I believe that a good education is necessary to survive in life. That’s what my parents taught me and what they strongly believe in. I want my kids to at least have a Bachelor’s Degree so they can have better opportunities in the future – studies have proven that a university education is not just the key to higher salaries and such but also important personal qualities like critical thinking.

I don’t think most taxpayers would agree with the abolishment of the PTPTN or allowing students to default on their loans.

No matter what your political leanings are, it’s just not fair to do that. What about the people who have already paid it back partially? PTPTN study loans allows for an affordable method of payment for new graduates.

The topic came up during a dinner recently – I strongly believe that if you take a loan which the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines as:

Something lent usually for the borrower’s temporary use (emphasis mine)

That means it should be returned. You’ve been given a chance at higher education and defaulting on it shouldn’t point north on anyone’s moral compass.

I want my children to be responsible and pay back loans which they have taken. Of course, I hope for a scholarship if they turn out to have the academic aptitude to do that, but if they can’t qualify for the cream of the crop requirements, that’s okay with me too. 🙂

Food swap!

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ling hb

I have to admit, I have been lacking in my updating duties lately, primarily coz I’m in love and I’m spending a lot of time with Ling. I often come home exhausted but happy. That’s what it’s all about ain’t it? 🙂

The good life…

Anyway, today I’m going to write about our food swap. It wasn’t intended as that per se, I just turned up with McDonald’s take away (she wanted a Spicy Chicken McDeluxe) for two but she had already cooked for me so I swapped with her instead.

curry chicken
Curry chicken with potatoes!

I felt bad coz she gave me all the good bits of the chicken. I’m particular that way. I only eat dark meat (thighs, drumsticks) but I don’t think I told her that. I don’t remember telling her that anyway but that’s what she packed for me.

It was piping hot, very good stuff.

mussels peanuts

Ling also had some pork rib soup going with mussels, peanuts and gourd. I was telling her about the gourd after I ate it. I asked her if you’re supposed to peel the (rather furry and rough) skin. She said no, it’s supposed to go in like that.

pork rib soup

Well, I was wondering out loud why someone would eat that skin, considering the less-than-palatable texture, and she said you’re not supposed to eat it. It’s meant to be peeled before eating. You’re not supposed to eat the seeds either (which were kinda sour).

bones

I ate everything and left only bones.

I then washed all the containers and put my favorite candy into each one of them so she’ll find it when she opened it up. I also managed to stuff a can of Milo inside one (so she’ll have something to drink when she gets gastric). It took me quite a while to get everything into the various shaped Tupperware and tiffin carriers.

happy ending

Baby, I forgot to tell you this but your t-shirt that day sounds a bit wrong. smirk

I do want that for us though. 🙂 Not the alternate version, the literal meaning.

How does she know who I am?

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…and why does she give a damn about me?

ling

I was out with Ling for the whole day and the reason she has a name now is coz the topic came out while eating pan mee after running through the heavy rain, of all things. She asked me to call her (beep) Ling in the blog. That’s not exactly her real name but sounds like her real name.

I said cannot.

I already have a friend with that name.

Coincidentally, there are a lot of people who’re called Ling (the “Ling” part is her real name BTW, the *beep* bit is not) so thus, the anonymous person now has a name. smirk

books

Anyway, we were at a book store earlier that day. We went to Paradigm Mall and looked at kids workbooks and board games till we lost track of time.

Oh, and stickers!

stickers

She stuck one in my car too. I thought she’s damn cute coz she was looking at these fluid filled stickers and was so entranced by them. 🙂

Ling told me about this Adrian Mole type book by a local writer with illustrations and while walking past the travel section I noticed she was flipping through a Singaporean book but when I wanted to buy it for her she said she didn’t want it coz it’s expensive.

I thought girls like this were extinct dy. *touched*

tong pak fu

She had an appointment for a massage and aromatherapy session so we had this dessert at Tong Pak Fu.

tracka durian snow ice
Tracka Durian Snow Ice (RM 14.80)

It’s quite good and supposedly made from Tracka durian. I was sulking throughout dessert though. Haha! Sorry baby.

I sent her and a friend to a massage and aromatherapy session and immediately came back to buy the book she liked. I asked for it to be gift wrapped but Popular does not provide that service.

However, I managed to sweet talk convince the girl working there to wrap it for me. She said it’ll not be nice but she’s willing to help, which was very nice of her.

popular girl

I had already decided to buy it for her when I saw her reading it but wanted it to be a surprise so I slipped it into the bag of purchases and didn’t tell her about it.

I wanted her to find it when she opened the bag. I love you dear.

contact

Listen to Iron Maiden baby with me.

I’m lucky to have you. 🙂

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