Lair of Flying Green Song Rabbits

I had my wisdom teeth pulled out yesterday so today was a day of rest and pigging out on ice cream!

After watching 2 movies in a row though I am bored. So I started sorting through my photos for these past few days.

So here goes long picture post ahead.



My brother and sister, the dear souls they are, have discovered a new form of play.

My wardrobe.... to do THIS:


Doesn't the carebear look gangster with the bandanna?



Lol they're pretty funny there were a lot more but I only took pictures of their prouder dress ups. In the end I joined and had them do themes and colours and limited items.

But I made them clean up after.

Then rearranged everything again cuz they didn't arrange my clothes the way I wanted them to....

Aquarium and Pancakes!

So two weekends ago I took my siblings to eat Pancakes on the Rocks and to go to the aquarium to see the Dugongs!

Since it was a Sunday they have the special $2.50 family funday pass!! (incentive to just spend more while out -.-)


I thought my bro's pancake was especially cute =)


Do me and my sister look alike =D?? At the ferry stop waiting for a ferry that was super late... (it was a bad public transport day -.-)


My bro being super excited about seeing the dugongs or the 3D painting... but then again that's the new smile he's been practicing...


Me and my sister =)


Pretty Dugong!!! Eating lettuce >.>

Chinese New Year

I'll like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy Chinese new year (although a late one)

I tried ever so hard to find something red and new to wear.... but I think I tried harder at enforcing my shopping ban....

So instead I just wore this new green dress I bought in China for 30RMB. Yes rare to find a summer dress in the middle of winter but it was on sale! I took a risk and bought it cuz in China sale items= no trying on!


My bro takes all my pictures XD He has a steadier hand with the camera....

So I basically had a shit Chinese New Year dinner...


We were stuck for ages waiting for our guests to arrive.... apparently they couldn't find a parking spot... after my dad rang several times they finally said they're downstairs so my dad ordered the food.. only to have about 3-4 dishes come before they arrive so the food got cold!!


The food seemed nice on the menu but they had 2 dishes that were.. disgracefully bad!!! Two dishes looked like canned or dried food cooked... YUCK!! The other foods weren't very flavoursome and the fish was massive but probably not a live fish and it wasn't even cooked through!

The service was awful since everyone was so busy. But I guess that's how new years goes....


I spent a lot of time therefore watching the TV which had some Taiwanese star's "music videos" that welcome the new year.

I CRINGED at every outfit she wore... I dunno if you can see it here but the middle one.. she's basically got a tablecloth wrapped around her and a green fur thing on her shoulder....

There were also ones where she wore "fancy" fringe undies on the outside of red/pink see through stockings/tights. And really short skirts.... hot pants.... and omg a lot of the shorts were bordering to up skirt...

It was one of those terrifying things where you don't really want to look but your eyes are to mortified to look away....


I had this chick keep me company. We used to be really good friends when I was like 6 XD Now she's studied practically 10+ years at uni cuz she didn't know what she wanted to do.. and came out with a doctor's degree.


My dad and his friend drinking spirits....


Then Jenny You's dad joins in with the drinking... between the 2/3 of them they finish a whole bottle

Needless to say they were pretty drunk -.-

Despite crappy food, crappy service, awful entertainment, late guests etc I think I still enjoyed new years =\

Sorry no paintball pictures =(

Wishing you all a great 2009.

Midori.

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The year has already began, but perhaps it was the unfamiliarity of the setting that made me still feel like it was 2008. But now with the Lunar new year passing, it feels like a good time to reflect, remake and relearn things to better improve myself as a person.

Well first thing first, I've been going to the gym for over half a year and here are my current measurements compared to these:


Weight: 2008 61.5kg/2009 63.3kg
Height: 159.5cm/159.5cm
Bust: 98cm/98cm
Waist: 80cm/80cm
Hips: 89cm/87cm
Biceps: 28cm/29cm
Thigh: 55cm/56cm


As anyone can see, I did not reach my goal at all. In fact, the only thing that's changed is that I weigh more than I did last year circa gym. WHAT A WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY. One thing good that came out of it was that my fitness level has increased and I can steadily do heavier loads and harder levels. Other than that, my fat deposits remain untouched.

Even going on Atkin's and gyming every so often was useless. I really have NO self-control whatsoever.

Is there really a point going on another one of my so-called weight loss regimes again this year? I will never change and once I hit 25 my skin will no longer retain its elasticity and I'll get premature cellulite and saggy skin. OH MY GOD.

T______________________________T

These things I will promise myself before I officially become a woman in my twenties.

1. I WILL tone up and maybe lose weight.
2. Develop good, clean, organised and responsible habits at home.
3. Learn to make quick meals at home.
4. Keep my bedding in rotation every month.

The list is virtually endless, but these are some of the more important ones.

I will turn over a new leaf in this new part of my life, and I shall reward myself with a Pandora bead.


On a completely unrelated note, I am set to developing and using my dream cheese custard lemon chiffon pie recipe!

(And hence, Serena gives the reason for her consistent weight gain.)

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*I do not claim to be an expert. I'm just documenting my thoughts on a personal blog.

Giving feedback on the food I've been trying for a few months now and I have come back with a few opinions of my own.

Out of the many cheeses I have tried, I currently like all of them.

Okay, biased account.

Of the normal everyday cheeses used at home, parmesan (fresh grated or packaged aged) beats the lot. Not only does it have the strongest, tangy sharp cheese taste, it also goes on anything to give food life.

Next on the list is tasty cheddar, with a thicker, creamier and milkier taste. Personally I don't like mozzarella, and if I had it my way I'd use cheddar or swiss cheese on all pizzas.

Cream cheeses, ick. Will not go into those. Not a fan, really. They aren't so bad.

Feta is a white, often cubed cheese that is easily spread with some force but you're supposed to eat it as is or cut up. Feta is mild in its 'cheese' smell, but extremely milky and a bit salty. Feta is supposely low fat, at least, the ones I have eaten all seem to be. Feta is the white stuff in Greek salad.

Everyone knows Kraft 'plastic' cheese, right? And then there's Laughing Cow cream cheese that is much stronger, extremely thick and fatty.


Exotic cheeses are limited and I have no tried all of them, but one day I will.

Bocconcini is one of my favourites because you can savour cheese all on its own without feeling fat and guilty. Bocconcini are stark white balls of cheese that are very stringy on the inside (like Bega Stringers!) but with a very very mild taste. It's very refreshing and yummy. They are also fun to eat because you can either peel them or squish them! From the name, you can gather that this is an Italian cheese.

I have tried Australian vintage aged cheese, and find this has the most fragrant taste, not the same but similar to parmesan. This is also very creamy and close to cheddar. However I personally think it is a stronger version of cheddar.

Camembert is one of my top favourite cheeses. It has a distinctive aroma and texture, more rubbery and runny than other cheeses. Camembert is that creamy light yellow cheese with the white film over it (it can be eaten but doesn't taste very nice). It's really hard to describe; flavourful, but not overwhelming like cheddar or vintage. It is stronger than bocconcini, but tastes nothing like it. It is my favourite French cheese.

I have only tried blue cheese twice and have a vague memory of that experiences. My first time was during Year 8 French with Soljic. I remember a tangy bittersweetness, not wholly unpleasant but not fantastic either. Blue cheese (also known as mouldy cheese) is best eaten with an open mind.

Yesterday I bought a Danish cheese called havarti. Similar in texture to the insides of camembert, but is sweeter and quite creamy. Maybe it's because it's new, but so far I love it. And the cat loves it. She's gonna get fat from all the cheese I'm giving her. It is made in Denmark!


The first and only conclusion derived from chocolate hunting is this:

Belgium chocolates suck.

No matter what people say, "Belgium chocolates are the finest", it's Swiss chocolates all the way baby.

Midori and I discussed this last night and she understand what I mean when I say chocolates like Guylian and even Godiva (which came to be around $50 or $255HK per box) had a gritty texture and taste. Godiva was of higher quality than Guylian, but it was not to my liking. I have reason to believe the Belgium method of de-husking the cacao beans failed to remove the inner membrane thing, which is causing the gritty-ness. Maybe it's just me. Or maybe it is the bitterness and strength of the cacao that is causing the grit.

Swiss chocolates like Lindt and Toblerone are sweeter than their Belgium counterparts, however infinitely smoother and creamier (if you hadn't noticed, I'm a fan of creamy things). They have less of the bitter chocolate/cocoa taste, but Lindt...oh Lindt, my one and only chocolate lover!

There's also Cadbury, but I find it too sweet and overbearing. Lindt is a slightly 'lighter' option.

Seriously if you consider the prices go for Lindt, it's not that much more than regular candy bars and Godiva is just such a rip off.

Stay tuned, for in the next couple of years Serena will improve upon her findings and advice for cheese and chocolate lovers.

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Okay so this is REALLY long overdue and I have just sorted through over 1000 photos to bring you these 30.

So THIS is why my total luggage was about 40kg...



Click Click!!



My wonderful cousins =)


My supposedly look a like cousin =)

She's so awesome, once we just talked in bed till 5am in the morning; got about an hour sleep.

Where I lived the Majority of the time:


Red Light District!!!

Nah I'm kidding


Lived at this apartment building which just finished building hence the veges outside and the dirt and stuff.

My auntie's very pretty apartment with pretty chandelier! =)



My Cousin's room. He moved to sleep with my grandma or his mum while I was there.



Now I know I've always said the place where I live is a very small county. Here's most of the city. The place is surrounded on all sides by mountains!!


We have a tiny house in the countryside that's tucked away next to roads and stuff so here's just one photo of this tiny village. I'm standing on the roof where I spent a lot of time playing as a kid.


I spent a lot of my holiday staying in the little county but made a trip to Xiamen to visit some other uncles and aunties and cousins and a trip to Fu Zhou the capital of the state I was living in to visit my great aunt whose a great cook!

Being a small county I didn't have much to do especially when my cousin had to go work or some to school.

So I just went to the beautiful rooftop at the apartment to camwhore!



Or stupidly listen to what my cousin tells me to pose as -.-

He goes if I do that I'll look like a monkey... -.- (wee love my military jacket =) )


Big BIG woks and steamers but very yummy food!

Some more scenery!

Ain't this place pretty? A lot of people were taking wedding photos here in sleeveless dresses in the middle of winter... damn cold..

A beauty to be seen everywhere where I lived was the mountains. On top of most of them were temples but this place was newly 'renovated' to have wooden footbridges and paths and stone steps showing the magnificent scenery!

Okay now you're all probably really sick of all the natural beauty of China so now we're going to.......


BEIJING!!!

"And the weather in Beijing today is -10 degrees Celcius..."

My photos are in backwards order of where I went first and last... I'll just show you guys the major attractions.

Birds Nest Christmas Tree!


BIG Christmas tree next to Bird's nest. NOTE: tree is NOT bigger than birds nest....

The Water Cube AKA The Beijing National Aquatics Centre


Birds Nest



If you guys want an idea of how cold it is. Fucken 9am in the morning here. This water is partially frozen. It froze while gushing out of the pipe....


I don't care that I'm scared of the cold... I'm not gonna pretend it's not cold when it's FREEZING!!!!!!! So me and my cousin covered up REAL well...

scarf: check; beanie: check; face mask: check; 5 layers of tops: check; 3 layers of pants: check; fogged up glasses; check; raw cheeks; check.

Th Great Wall of China at barely 9am in the morning... Hence not many people.



Freshly fallen snow in Tian Jin!!!!



Pretty snow that has fallen at Memorial to Zhou Enlai and Deng Yingchao


The Old Summar Palace: Yuan Ming Yuan

The lake was frozen over but after me and my cousin both stepped on it we heard a loud crack... hence the really constipated posture cuz I was scared to death of falling into the icy water before the quick photo....

Although this place is known as a symbol of foreign aggression and humiliation since british and french troops destroyed it in 1860 (wiki) it's so beautiful....

White stuff is ALL ice.

Forbidden City: Gu Gong


Tianmen Square:
Tiananmen



The Great Hall of the People: Ren Min Da Hui Tang


Didn't actually get to go in cuz there was a big meeting inside

Mausoleum of Mao Zedong: Mao Zhe Dong Ji Nian Tang

For your information we lined up for an hour (would be much longer in summer), right when it opened, went through security checks, couldn't bring our bags or cameras in and looked at Mao from about 3m away for about 10sec as we weren't even allowed to stop and look. But at least it was free with ID.

Temple of Heaven

Breathtakingly beautiful.

Here's something I won't miss from China: Toilet system.

I don't know if you guys have ever seen these. This is actually quite an unused clean version. It's a squatting toilet but with no doors and no flush. Basically a canal straight through the middle so everyone else can see your business especially if there's 3-4 in a row and it's slanted a bit. This is a clean tame version.. those ones at petrol stations are HORROR.



PS if you're all wondering why I wore the SAME thing every day at Beijing it's cuz it was too fucken cold that I didn't even have a warm enough coat to change into and besides my logic is cold=no sweat=no need. >.>

Also didn't shower for those 5 days cuz the accommodation was so shit it scared me... and we kept losing power.. and I didn't want to be stuck in the bathroom with no power, cold water and a hole in the wall, cigarette butt on the floor and dirty stained floors....

I showered immediately when we got to a clean hotel...

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I had planned today in my head last night as I was trying to get some sleep: watch dramas and do paint by numbers. Simple, yet that's all I wanted.

When you called in the morning and woke me I wasn't surprised, I expected at least that but when you didn't apologise I was angry.

I rolled around in bed and fell in and out of sleep until noon.

But when I saw you at the door...

I didn't expect that.

And all my anger disappeared when I saw your face.

It's funny isn't it? And Serena will probably shout at me.

How is it that you sway my mood so much?

Your apology wasn't what I wanted, wasn't what I expected but it melted the stone wall I had up against you.

This isn't what I'd expected in a hundred years but I'm glad to be back in your arms.

Happy one year (11 months >.>)

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I'm currently sorting through the 150 pictures I took on my holiday. Before I post it up and kill my bandwidth for the month, I leave you with a teaser from before Christmas.




And inside the bag:

Don't hate me, it's my mother's.

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Since Serena posted her shopping items i shall post mine!

- 1 blazer with frill trimming
- 1 faux leather jacket
- 1 Blue jacket with lace trimming and fur
- 1 navy denim jacket
- 1 plain white high neck jumper
- 2 black coats, 1 trench
- 2 knit coats
- 1 sky blue cardigan
- 1 grey long vest
- 1 wollen dress
- 2 skirts
- 2 dresses
- 1 scarf included with dress
- 1 singlet
- 1 white blouse/shirt
- 2 long sleeve shirts
- 1 jumper with midriff top
- 1 bright blue shorts with stud belt
- 1 checkered tie vest
- 2 pairs of leggings
- 1 pair of stockings
- 2 pairs of boots (1 cuz my mum can't fit into the pair i bought her -.-)
- 1 navy/black oxfords
- 1 purple plaid wedges
- 2 pairs of other heels
- 6 bras + 8 undies
- 1 set of PJs
- 4 necklaces
- 2 bracelets/bangles
- 15 pairs of earrings
- 1 hairclip

Shit that's a lot... and not including the various other random stuff i bought.

Hence my 32kg+ luggage...

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Finally did some unpacking and my shopping list is measly compared to all the stuff Midori bought.

I got:

• 2 pairs of giant flared trousers (No Brand).
• 1 navy blazer (Zara).
• 4 pairs of coloured stockings (Zocks).
• 1 black Winter coat.
• 1 white faux fur pullover.
• 2 shirts.
• 2 long sleeve shirts.
• 1 white blouse.
• 1 pair of platform Mary Janes in patent blue (Darloro).
• 4 bras and 3 panties (Manjieer).
• 1 grey skirt.
• 1 grey dress.
• 1 scarf.
• 1 blue pashmina.
• 2 nightgowns and a bathrobe.
• 2 alice bands.

I did not get my Balenciaga bag. I did not get a pair of oxfords and I didn't get any earrings (except the ones my aunt gave me). It really wasn't a great time to go shopping, what with the AUD so low (5 HKD!! LIKE WTF it was 7 last year!). Shopping wasn't worth it *sadsad* and I spent half my holiday in some sort of pain, so I was not in the mood to shop.

Only at the Incheon airport did I manage to grab a few cheap items of makeup: MAC eyeshadow and eyeliner, Dior lipgloss.

Glad I'm home.

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I'll be back in Australia on the 8th, in the morning, touching down at 9:30am.

I'm so glad I'll be back to eat cheesecakes, avocados, melted cheese on bread, unagi fried rice, cheap Maccas and KFC.

I'm so glad I'll be back to go to the beach, swim at the new Olympic park ride, NOT have my parents drive off to Jamberoo without me T_T, oh SUN glorious sun!!

Oh yeh then there's seeing you guys again ^^

But there's so much I'll miss from here.

Being here longer meant I learnt a lot more about my relatives, their habits and their generosity. I'm now so much closer to my cousin than I was when I visited a few years back and stayed for a few weeks. I love how everyone calls us twins because I'm so glad to have her as my sister (cousin).

Staying at my 3rd aunt's place with my uncle coming back from work once in a while made me realise how similar their family was to mine. My uncle and my dad are so alike in more ways than just blood relations.

Everyone's willingness to just accept me in as family; no awkwardness, no unfamiliarity, has really touched me.

I'll miss this place a lot but right now I miss Australia -.-



PS here's another photo from the photoshoot.

Yes I believe the photographer was not worth what I paid for considering his editing skills to add borders etc into the album I could do!! And that's saying something -.- And he didn't edit out my ugly teeth, badly stuck eyelid tape and fat face -.-

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Shit I got fat.

No seriously I think I lost my chin.

Went walking through the mountains today, took a few photos and OMGWTF WHERE IS MY CHIN IN THE PHOTOS???

WHAT IS THAT LAYER OF FLAB THAT REPLACED MY CHIN???

I'm NOT kidding... and I've been using this face roller thing that apparently makes your face thinner....

WHY?? why does fat appear on my face.. where it's so hard for me to lose!

Argh.

On another note got back my photo album of a photoshoot I had done.


Yay for Chinese costumes! and my "my chin hasn't left me" days. -.-


(Shit on closer inspection you can already see my disappearing jawline -.-)

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Happy new year everyone!

Did everyone stay up and watch fireworks?

Jot down new years resolutions and promise to keep them?

Have way too much alcohol?

Cuz I did none of that!

9pm China time= 12am Australian time, I was sitting in the dark at my auntie's place (she hates wasting electricity -.-) watching the career story of some sumo wrestler dubbed in Chinese on TV, while eating chestnuts and chewing on sugar cane, while my grandma slept, my auntie was out, my uncle worked and my cousin played games on his computer.

By 11 I was in my pjs and in bed calling my boy to wish him a happy new year when I was greeted with "can you call me back?" T_T (He was shopping outside and barely had time to talk to me and didn't even wish me a happy new year -.-. Should have called him later but the previous night when I called at 11 he was already asleep and barely responded to anything I said -.- now my phone card is spent -.-)

By 11:30 I was falling asleep while in bed lying on the side with the room lit by the mobile light while I played Tetris over and over (cuz I suck at it the game ends so fast -.-)

Before it was even 12 I was fast asleep.

No fireworks here since it's a small city here and they celebrate Chinese new year not new years . S, did you get to see fireworks?

I wanna camp out and watch the Sydney fireworks again!

No new years resolution this year -.-

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