Monday, May 30, 2011

Longing home-liness

Hey Chia!

I just love that pirate picture! How sweet! AaaaaRe you having at good time in the country young lass!? =P See what I did there?! Heh. Heh. Heh...

Well as you have been informed by a certain informant, I've been sick these past few days.

Before falling ill, I was feeling that need to chill a bit. But I kept pushing it. My first taste of homely goodness was on Thursday night (I actually was already getting 'bad' stomach earlier at work, but I thought it would pass). Kev and I wanted to give Voon her belated birthday present, but she was going to Ann's for dinner.

Ann being so sweet and generous said that Kev and I could come along for dinner! When we arrived, she had prepared everything for us to make pizzas! She made the dough, which was multigrain, and had all the toppings!

Hrm... homemade pizza base


So we had to roll up our sleeves and roll out the dough onto the oven trays. We made three pizzas, Ann's, Voon's and then Kev and I split one.

Kev, Ann and Voon - Masterchefs!


The toppings available were things like mushrooms, basil, tomato, cheddar cheese, blue cheese, feta cheese, pepperoni, walnut, antipasto mix, tomato sauce, okonomiyaki sauce (forgot it's proper name), Japanese mayonnaise and much more!

Voon preparing her Pizza


After we put the pizzas in the ovens, we sat in front of the couch and watched Masterchef. Ann then offered to do my nails! She had bought a whole lot of new nail polish and she even got one of those UV nail polish dryers! It dried super quick (especially since there was like almost 4 layers!).

The pizzas soon came out looking like this:

Ta-da!


We happily ate these pizzas in the warmth of Ann's house while watching tv. It was something I had not done in a long time. Ann also surprised us with apple strudel from Corica Pasteries!

Thank you so much Ann, for letting Kev and I crash your dinner. Happy birthday Voonie!!! Hope you like your presents!!! =D

Friday, May 27, 2011

Weather, work and wonderful strangers

Hi Anna!

In the mayhem of receiving a last minute call for work and dashing out to Hampstead tube, I inadvertently left the brolly behind. I half convinced myself that it had been sunny for the last couple of days so it won't be needed.

Of course I got drizzled, wind swept and even hailed on when I was walking to and from the school. Bless the tube station for sheltering me from the short bursts of hailstones. I was chilled to the bones. I'm thankful I don't have the sniffles this morning.


One of the kids came up and gave this to me at the end of the day. I think it is a pirate. I love keeping drawings that kids do for you. This one is hilarious because I have no idea how she managed to associate a pirate with me. I didn't get the chance to ask her because there was so much activity going on in the class. Serendipitously the mystery behind it will forever amuse me!


I followed the instructions left behind by their teacher. One of the lesson involved drawing and painting insects and flowers. My goodness! There was water, paint and children everywhere and I definitely wished I could instantly clone copies of myself, but I really loved that feeling of being busy and being able to expel all the energy and enthusiasm pent up inside.

I have to say a huge thank you for the 4 strangers that helped me find my way. I sure hope some good karma finds a way to them. The man at one of the station was so kind I went back to say a big thanks! It took me about 1.5 hours to navigate from my tube stop to the school! That is London commuting time for you.

I finished at the school at about 5pm because there was plenty of marking to be done. I made my way to Putney to attend the speed friends night and this took another 1.5 hours. Look at how the weather can change here. It must be what they call 'London weather'.


Speed friends night was surprisingly FABULOUS! I absolutely enjoyed myself more than I could've imagined. I am immensely proud for not bailing out. There were roughly 30 of us and it was a good mix from different parts of the world: France, Spain, and of course a few Australians. Some had been in London for a month/10years/all their life. I met an architect, basketball player, lawyer, nanny, accountant and more, but no teachers. Every 15 minutes we swapped partners and eventually I managed to meet roughly half of them.We swapped details and I'm really excited that I now have some new friends to go out on the weekend with. The whole idea of speed friends is pure genius!

What a day it was for me. This morning I am still reeling from all sorts of thoughts and sensations from the weather, work and wonderful strangers that became friends!

Tomorrow morning I am off for the weekend on a train and drive up north to the Lake Districts to do some trekking. I cannot wait because the scenery looks impressive! It will be my first encounter of the country side.
http://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk
You will most likely hear from me when I get back on Tuesday but until then, have a good weekend everyone and get well soon Anna!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Glass is full

Glass is overflowing with Sweep


Poor Sweep. I like looking at Sweep who lives in a beer glass in Kev's room, because he is always re-arranged into a different position. This one was one of my favorites and I had to take a photo.

Looking at this photo of Sweep really explains the kind of day that I was having yesterday. Everything was going wrong on all fronts. It really sucked. But to spare the details on the bad stuff, let's just associate any sad stuff with Sweep's cute but just as unhappy, expression. Haha it makes me laugh. Its like Sweep is crying out 'Noooooooooo!' as he's been overwhelmed by beer. Tee hee hee. Yes! More points for happiness.

Anywho, there was this awesome thing that I saw during lunch yesterday. Walking through Hay street mall, I approached a crowd of people that happened to be a flash mob. There was loud music, and a huge group of happy people who looked random, but were all dancing synchronized.







They ended up being dancers for MS, who were spreading awareness and collecting donations. It was a pretty cool thing. There was a crowd surrounding the mob, taking photos and cheering, policemen were watching from a distance, and even three of the employees from Borders came out to see.

Other good things to note for the day - I finally finished my draft submissions for a special appointment at the district court; Kev fed me burning mini apple triangle pastry with freezing cold icecream, which confused the sensations in my mouth, and resulted in burns either from the heat or the cold, but nevertheless it was yummy; and finally, coming home and sleeping. I miss being at home. I am waiting for a weekend when I can just stay at home. Haha.

I like your idea for speed friends! Just think! You may meet someone just like you! Working holiday, new, and super fun! Not at all a freak... *crickets*- awkward.

You got to give us the low down on how it goes! Any keepers, any characters, and any slightly strange ones! Ah! The endless possibilities! Have fun and good luck!

I just signed up to...

So being here is all for trying new things right?

Well I signed up for an online networking site in London today. I've been wondering how on earth can I meet people that I normally wouldn't get the chance to meet. We've decided that when you're on public transport or other public areas, people are in their own little bubble and it's not exactly conducive to making conversations.

Now this is not a dating site, let me just clarify that (not that anyone should be concerned if it was!). I am really keen to make girl friends because girls are better company than boys. Just kidding! There are groups that you can join and people organise social events so that you can meet a group of people at one time. There is a speed friends (similar concept to speed dating) tomorrow evening with up to 40 people BUT it will take me 1.5- 2 hours to make it down there since I live up north and I will be travelling in peak hour and not to mention having to make the same journey all the way back. Am I making excuses? Positive thinking hat on Chia!

Ok I just clicked that bright blue button. Here's to new experiences!

You'd think it's easy to sign up for something like this, but it's rather difficult to create a 'profile' for yourself. I mean what picture do you choose? What do you select to write in the tiny space provided?

I'm not exactly sure how far I will go with this. It might just be forgotten in a few days time, brushed under the category of 'things-I've-tried-and-will-never-do-again'.Well will let you all know how the speed friends goes! No chickening out!

Oh and that reminds me dog/cat kibble is dried pet food biscuits.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Environmentally healthy

Ahoy hoy Chia!

Your book sounds like a lot of fun! By the way, what is doggy or kitty kiddle? Lol the Bible flip sounds amusing! I can just imagine flipping through it and landing on a page completely irrelevant. Haha! What happens with the fondue?

Ah bless you Chia! It's true! We are usually in our own little bubbles when we are surrounded by others. Just then, a boy came on the train with his music turned up loud in his headphones. A woman sitting across from him said:

'Excuse me!' and she motioned to the boy. He looked at her and pulled out one earphone.

'I don't want to hear your music, please turn it down.'

The boy looked down and complied.

Everyone on the train tuned in for that little interaction. It is weird right. That we all just ignore others around us. Sometimes I feel like I should say something, to the people who look like their open to interaction. But, I usually decide against it. I guess it is because a lot of the time, when in transit, people are stressed, anxious, tired, or in their own thoughts.

Oh! Happy birthday to HW too! Though I haven't spoken to your properly, I've heard heaps about you! =D Hope you had a special day!

Yesterday, Kev took home an electric car from his work! I was quite excited to experience an electric car, as I would definitely consider getting one in the future, if they are mass produced.





The photo is a little bit blurry, but isn't it cute?! =D






The car was super quiet! I thought Hugo was good, but this car made no sound, except a faint whirl. I said to Kev that it reminded me of a tram in Amsterdam. Even when it was stopped at a red light, there was no engine shudder or rattling. It was dead still. Amazing! Kev took it home to 'drain' the battery. Haha! Sounds like a toy car right?

When we stopped, I asked Kev to pop the hood, to have a looksee at what the engine looks like. Guess what? There was no engine in the front of the car. We discovered that the engine was in this box underneath the trunk space. But it had a cover over it which was bolted down.

But yea, that was the high of my day, having ride in an electrical car.

Quirky tales

 Hi Anna!

Currently I am reading this book.

 It is an absurd and outrageous book and I've discovered that it cannot be read while eating as food falls through my mouth in my constant state of disbelief.


Thumbs up for batty characters that:
- make domestic disputes comical with a fondue pot.
- eat doggy kibble like popcorn.
- bible dip (If you are undecided about something, you flip through the bible and whatever word your finger lands on, is the answer).

Sometimes characters in books are inspirational. But I'm only willing to try the last one. Actually, I don't have a fondue pot in hand, and I've tried cat kibble before :)

Now remember my uncle from Perth that I bumped into? Well you would NEVER guess but I bumped into him AGAIN but this time in a different area on the streets of London! The first time was in the markets south, and today was when I was walking down the streets back to Notting Hill gate in the west side. Upon hearing this I bet my parents will go out and buy a lottery ticket. How bizarre! One would think my parents have set him up to check up on me.

Anyway on this same street, I saw an old man with a walking cane hobbling with an overweight Jack Russell cruising on his shoulder. I don't know if the cane was to help him balance the dog, or the dog was the reason for the cane and his hobbling.

I shouldn't read the newspaper as it distracts me from getting onto the correct train and taking me to places where walls are covered with graffiti and derelict buildings and not a person in sight.

I was tickled pink when a gentleman working at the supermarket blessed me when I sneezed past him as I was reaching for a basket. I've become accustomed to people not paying attention and locked in their own little invisible bubble and it surprises me when my sneeze gets a reaction. Haha!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Birthday wishes from London

I just wanted to wish a very special and dear childhood friend HW a HAPPY BIRTHDAY for TODAY!

One of the blog readers that I know of :p

I've known her forever it seems since I was in pre primary and we grew up together in Christmas Island. Fond memories that springs to mind are having sleepovers and drawing girls with loveheart chests.

I hope you have a lovely day HW!

 
Peacing out  somewhere in Egypt!

The Greenhouse

Hey Chia!
Your adventures are sounding better and better! I like your goal to try and eat as many different type of food possible before leaving the UK! I totally support that!

I am so tripped out that you bumped into your uncle!!!! So...more details? Like did you see them first, or did they see you first? Were you just walking in the street crossing paths and heading in the opposite directions? Or was it at a market stall?

Your stag night encounter sounds hilarious! Were you having a big night too?

Today I had lunch with Eddie. It's been a while, and it's always so nice to catch up with him. We ended up going to the Greenhouse for treats and look what came out:





We ordered the five spiced marron, tofu, green mango salad and the
confit lamb shoulder, eggplant romesco, kipfler potatoes with a side dish of this roasted/smoked sweet potato.

All dishes were super yummy, the lamb was tender and very filling. The marron salad was refreshing and substantial without being heavy. Great meal!

We then decided to order desert, which took forever to come out! (20 mins).





Eddie is super happy here! ^__^
That log closest to Eddie looks hardly impressive, but it blew us out of the water in taste factor!!! It was the baked custard, rhubarb compote, cinnamon, and it just melted in your mouth.

Initially, when Eddie kindly cut it in half for us, I said 'I'm pretty full, you can have it all.' He was like 'No, believe me when I say, you will want your half.' I was sitting on the 'so-so' fence. I was full, and to me, the yoghurt parfait, rose jelly, watermelon, strawberries, looked awesome.

I took one bite of that compote, and ate my words with it. It was so delicious. I described it to Eddie along the lines of 'omg, it melts in your mouth. It's like so warm, soft and moist. It's just like..' and then the topic changed to the second Matrix movie, when the Merovingian gave a girl sitting across the restaurant a cake which gave her an orgasm. Haha!

Speaking about green. Look what I found on Phyllis this morning!





That tiny new stem does not look like the usual leaf!!! I am so excited and hope it's a flower!!!

Monday, May 23, 2011

To the markets and food!

What a weekend you've had Anna! Would be quite an experience to watch and to barrack for your team. Dust out the pom poms! Might even be more heart racing than the Eagles game I watched :p

Here are some of the pics to show you what I've been up to on my weekend.
Mainly consisting of the opposite of what you've been doing.... eating!

I'm very reluctant and yet to have fish and chips/sausages/mash/pies offered in pubs, so on Friday night I thought I'd try the duck salad. It was extremely tasty to my surprise especially since it was a pub meal.


We came across a stag night party on the streets (what we would call a buck's night) or more like THEY came to us because the groom to be was trying to sell the Big Issue to us. The end result was no Big Issue in hand, but him topless in the middle of Leicester Square and me 50 pence short. HILARIOUS! Me to the left and guy to the right about to take it off.

On Saturday I had delicious West African food at Camden Markets. I don't know why but I imagined it would be spicy but it wasn't.

Camden Market area has a edgy vibe to it. You see interesting characters dressed in leather and punk and  graffiti around.

On Sunday I had Caribean food in Spitalfield Markets and it tasted very similar to West African food. Perhaps it's my taste buds that cannot pick up the difference. Only difference I noticed was that the Caribbean food had cumin in it. Lady below is scooping up what was my lunch! Mmmm!


It was somewhere here I bumped into my uncle and his daughter from Perth! How random considering we both did not live in that area and how big London is! Can't escape Perth can you?

My ultimate goal at the end of the 2 years is to have tried as many varieties of food possible minus plumping up too much. So far I have a favourite Middle Eastern restaurant and chocolate brownies that anyone has to try when in London :)

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Superleague Round 1

Hey Chia!

How was your weekend? Get up to more drawing? My dad was cleaning up, and found my old art packs which I had stored away after high school! I asked him to keep it out so that if I have a free moment, I could try my hand at some right side of the brain leisure.

This weekend has flown by so fast. Friday night I had only 2 hours sleep, as I was so nervous about superleague on Saturday.

When I arrived at the volleyball centre, I was freezing cold and shaking. I wouldn't be able to tell you whether it was from being numb or nerves. Luckily one of the girls in my team, Stacey, gave me a huge can of Mother for me to drink. It made me buzz. Like it was a weird sensation. I was on high alert, I was zippy, but my head ached. It's that feeling of cramming before an exam, and the minutes before entering the examination room, you are just, well, high. It's not a great feeling, but it's not bad.

So, yea. I was buzzing. The whole day was like that. Playing in Superleague is really something- there is this feeling in the air. Everyone here is competitive, and there are distinct lines of where you belong. You may be friendly with people from other teams, but ultimately you ride with who you represent. It reminded me of the old days when I played hockey. It was good. Everyone was a good sport overall, but there is the cheering and the occasional jeering that tells you that this is a little more than social.

Our team did well. We won 4 games and lost 3. One of the games we lost was by 1 point in the last few seconds. We had worked our way up to tie, but then on the last play we lost the point. We really should have won. Anyways it was an intense day.

Didn't get any photos unfortunately, but took one of Shaz's team, to give you an idea of what it looked like.








The uniform will change this coming week. We unfortunately didn't get our shirts for this round, but I will take some photos when we get them!

Kev came to watch my games in the morning, and then we both stayed to watch Shaz's and El's teams play in the afternoon. I was a lil sad that Kev missed my first few games, but when he did come, he came with a surprise of new black shorts from Lululemon for me! I only had pink shorts and my skins to wear, which were not the uniform.

My dad even came down to watch a game. I was super happy, and it made me feel special. Haha. It's been a long time since my parents came to something of mine, and it was like I was in primary school all over again. Just like when you ask your parents to come watch an assembly, or when they used to come every Saturday morning to cheer for Scott and I at hockey. Dad was amused at how the whole indoor beach volleyball centre looked. The sand, the nets, the indoor part of beach volleyball. I was happy he came =) Lauren, another girl on my team, was also looking out for her mom, as she said that she had asked her mom to come and have a look too. Hee hee, we all want our parents to be proud of us. I just couldn't help thinking at the time, that both Lauren and I were shouting in our heads 'mommy/daddy look at meeeee!' =P

Kev played his games today, and he seems exhausted. His game structure was weird in that he started at 10.30am and ended at 4.13pm. It was a long, stretched out day (I started at 9.30 and ended around 2pm), but it was still fun to watch. Though, I'm pretty knackered now.

Goodnight Chia!

Friday, May 20, 2011

Today's mini achievement

I can't work on one thing for too long otherwise I get really impatient to finish it and I'm hasty with it,  hence the unfinished work and why it doesn't look as 'perfect' as I want it to. It looks big, but my netbook is small. The drawing is actually postcard size. I don't know what type of bird/duck it is but the photo was taken yesterday in one of the ponds in Hampstead Heath.

This was another one I did today. I didn't end up going to the National Gallery because I was more in the mood to lounge around.

ARGH I need to keep practising!! Not happy with these works.

National Gallery round 2

Oh dear Anna! Thank goodness you've managed to clarify the plural of moose for all of us! It was indeed a hilarious post!

PLEASE post how the moose pasta looks like when cooked! I have to say, when I first saw it, I thought they were little angels. The antlers resembling the wings. If I was in Perth, I would definitely make the trip to Ikea and check out this special deal they have. I would certainly TRY to eat a couch worth of food to make up for the fact that I've never had a meal in Ikea. I don't know what the meatballs taste like and I bet I am missing out! I do know how Daim tastes like though.

The agency seems to be keeping tabs on me and calling me to ask questions as if to reassure me that all is good. Well I am going with it until June. That is the busy month they say. So until then, I don't expect to be very busy. I got a call at 830am today though. The lady asked if I could fill in as a nursery teacher. That is ages 3-5 year olds. I don't exactly have a lot of experience with kids that age so I had to turn it down.

Instead I took the day to revisit the National Gallery. I love it here! It is extremely convenient to get here using the tube.

This pic was kindly taken by a stranger and I returned the favour too.

One of my favourite painting that I revisited is by Renoir:
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/pierre-auguste-renoir-the-umbrellas
 One of the many reasons why I like this painting is because it was on the wall of a restaurant in Le Grandeur Hotel, Balikpapan, Indonesia. Mary and I would make a weekend out of visiting this place and indulging in the glorious food that we could not get where we lived. I know, I can get rather nostalgic.

In my wildest dreams would I have have imagined being able to see the REAL painting and here it is right here in London! I got so inspired that on the way home, I went to the art shop around the corner and spent a fortune on coloured pencils! Well now I have a guilty conscience to be artistic. Yes you read right, it was 49.95 GBP! And that was supposedly half price!


I lugged pencils and all up to Hampstead Heath and walked for ages deciding what to sketch. I finally found a spot and I kept going until the cold got to me. This is what I've done so far in a time span of about 40 minutes. I dare not show you the real scenery for comparison. I am very reluctant to show unfinished art works so please be easy on your criticism.
Here are some other photos of Hamstead Heath that I promised. You can see some of the scenery I pass when I go for my jog/walks! I hope you think it is beautiful too!
 
 If you can figure out what the man on the right sitting down is doing let me know. I was too cold to stop and ask. I suspect it is an antenna of some sort and he may be tuning in to alien communication.

Can you believe that tomorrow is Friday already! Well if it is another day of unemployment I will try and rejoice rather than complain and I will go to the National Gallery and do my own sketch of Renoir's Umbrellas!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Moose. Meese. Pasta.

A serious topic of conversation


So.

I posted a blog entry about Ikea and how I loved it; and how I loved my 'meese' pasta.

I was so proud of my Ikea meese pasta.

The whole experience was wondrous for me- realising that each pasta piece was of a moose; shrieking out 'Kev, they are little mooses!'; Kev correcting me and saying that they are called 'meese'; realising my mistake, and apologising to their cute little faces, and finally saying 'Look Kev, they are little meese! MEESE!'

I was so amused at the unusual find, that I held the bag in front of me, and just happily examined the pasta as Kev shuffled me towards the Ikea exit, ensuring I didn't trip over anything.

'It's meese pasta Kev!' I beamed.
'Yes, and you just can't wait to eat all the little meese,' he teased.
'Nope!'

Anyways, change of scene.

So it is about 6.50pm, and both Kev and I are tired after a full day of work. As we waited on the train station platform, Kev shows me his phone. I see that he was reading my Ikea post.

'Aw! You read it!' I sang.
'Yea, meese?' He asked with a confusing smile on his face.
'Yea?! meese!' Still happily buzzing from learning that he read my post.
'You do know that I'm not sure that the plural is meese.' He said.

I dead stared him.

'What?'

Kev then starts laughing. As he laughing at me on the platform, I stood confused.

'What to you mean they are not meese?' I asked him carefully.

The train pulls up, and as we walked to the doors and waited with the other passengers, Kev composedly said:

'I am not sure if the plural of moose is meese.' He gives my hand a squeeze, as if to soften the blow.

'No, but it is!'

I defiantly grabbed my iPhone and googled it up. I found a definition on urbandictionary.com and showed it to Kev. But I didn't feel triumphant. If anything, I felt like I had scrambled, only to scrape the bottom of the pool of resources available, resorting to the bottom of all reputable dictionaries to save any sort of dignity that I may have had left. I had just written a blog, all about these meese. All day, I thought I was clever.

I passed my iPhone to Kev to show him:


We entered the train and found a seat. Kev continued to laugh.

'Wait, so what you're telling me, is that there is NO meese?' I was slightly annoyed at this point. Kev tried to stifle his laugh.

'I made up the word. I thought you knew I made it up, but liked the word meese.'
'What? How would I know that it was made up? I initially said mooses!' I cried out.

Kev, relentlessly pissing his pants quietly said:

'Mooses isn't a word either.'

I looked away out of frustration, but I couldn't avoid feeling Kev chuckling next to me.

'So, you lied!' I curtly whispered.
'No, I said meese because I wasn't sure if it was right or wrong. I thought you liked the word meese.'
'I don't like the word meese! Why would I like the word meese?' I hissed.
'Because you looked so happy when I said meese.'
'I don't care if it is meese or mooses!' I seethed, 'I just liked the pasta!'

Kev lost it. He just couldn't speak. He was in his little bubble of nonsensical delight. Watching him, the hilarity of our absurd 10 minute conversation slowly started to win over my annoyance. I was then stuck with that feeling where I didn't want to laugh, but I could feel it rising up to my chest. I fought it, refusing to allow myself to smile. It was the principle of the situation. It was serious. So why did I feel like I was mocking myself the longer I resisted?

'Shut up.' I shortly whispered.

Kev laughed harder.

'You're a doouche! You know that! I just liked the pasta!' and with that, I reluctantly gave into the laughter. It annoyed me, but I couldn't help it.

This conversation when on for a further 15 minutes, until I eventually forgave Kev for leading me on. I really did believe they were called meese.

It was the most ridiculous, serious conversation ever. I can only dare to imagine what the other commuters, who may have been ears dropping, may have been thinking.

P.S Thanks Viv for the clarification. Moose or Meese? Answer is here at the oxford dictionary website.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Why Ikea rocks

Yum! Your pizza looks so yummy! Ooh and mixed berry cider? I wonder how that tastes? I have only had apple cider and, the cider that is similar to beer?

Oh! I have to tell you about my experience at my last trip to Ikea!

Ikea had this deal where you 'eat your couch worth,' where if you eat at the Ikea food court, then the amount you pay for your meal, is deducted from any purchase from the store. 


Kev had breakfast which was only $3.50 for a plate of scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, baked beans, a hash brown and a grilled tomato. It was quite substantial! Beats McDonalds any day! Actually, previously we went to Ikea on a Saturday, and the same breakfast was available, but was only $1.95 if you got to Ikea before 9.00am!


What an awesome deal right? So Kev ordered the breakfast and let me have a nibble off his plate. I then decided that I would like to try out the Swedish meatballs, but unfortunately, we had to wait till breakfast was over. So we decided to have a look around. Kev wanted to get a lamp for his bedroom, and I was looking for little storage boxes for all my jewelry that I've started to accumulate.

So, half way though our browse, we returned to the food court and ate some meatballs and chips for about $6.95. Hrmm, the Swedish meatballs were tasty.

We soon returned to our hunt, and eventually, Kev found a cute lamp, which was solar powered! No cords baby! And totally eco-friendly. An old lady was standing at the stand with the lamps and she pretty much sold us the product. She was saying how the lamp was really good (when it worked- she had returned one because it wasn't working properly) but she said people had used them for camping because it's solar powered and they were very bright! Kev chose the lamp in his favorite colour:

A Green 'Sunnan' lamp
Its pretty cool. It needs approximately 9-12 hours of recharge time in the sun, and approximately 12 hours if it is a cloudy day. You can remove the solar panel (the black square) and place it on your window sill. It is supposed to last for up to 3 hours!

You can find more info on the Sunnan Lamp here.

Now having a think about it, I am considering of getting a yellow one for my room too! It would be mighty handy when the power cuts out.

Anyways, Kev ended up paying only $23 for the Sunnan Lamp as $6.95 was deducted from the total price; all thanks to the yummy Swedish meatballs! How neato is that!

I ended up getting a peeler and some measuring cups, and used the $3.50 from the Ikea breakfast to cover the costs. I only ended up paying 40 cents!

Ikea kitchen utensils are cute and colourful

After going through the checkout and being very proud of ourselves, I slowly edged Kev to the Swedish food section when I almost passed this:

Ikea pasta? Pasta-Algar?
It caught my attention because it wasn't the normal shaped pasta.

Tiny moose, or meese!
When I picked it up and looked closer, I shrieked at Kev 'Oh my god! They are tiny mooses!' Kev chuckled, had a look at it, and then corrected me 'Meese, tiny meese.' It made my day, I had to buy them! Just looking at the tiny antlers, eyes and nose really makes me smile. It's super cute and such good fun! If I had a kid, and was having trouble getting them to eat, I'd buy this!

I think this was the coolest purchase... Can't wait to cook my meese!

Mmm cider

More pics for you!

Thanks Shaz for promptly sending the pics so I could put them up on the blog.
We had a pizza each! Scrumptious! I can't remember the name of the place though.















This mixed berry cider is wonderful!















Glad you liked your gift! I love the charms on it especially the little teapot :)

Received Love from London

Chia! After our quick phone call or 'blog telephone conference', I got drenched from the rain! I was actually running and jumping over puddles when I was taking to you. But though I felt gross at the time, running/ walking through rain with no umbrella is quite exciting!

Once at home my mom said 'you got mail' I saw a package with 'royal mail' on it!!!!

London charm!

YAY for Royal Wedding Souvenirs!


Thank you so much!!! I love the little package! I stuck Prince William and Kate on my lamp and I am going to wear my bracelet today!

I loved your entry! I like seeing your employment card and the food you bought. I like you self timed shot too! More insight on your daily life. What are you going to bake? Share your recipe? =)

What are you going to do today?

Groceries and a goldfish

YAY a mini celebration hip hip hooray for reaching over 1000, even if the 1000th click was by you! Well it might as well be your honour to hit it!

I am absolutely stuffed! Just had a lovely dinner with Shaz down the road from my place. We had two large woodfired pizzas and a bottle of mixed fruit cider each. We must've been hungry because we polished it all up. Will have to get the photos off Shaz and put them up in my next blog.

No work again today. A lady from the agency called to check up on me and I expressed my concerns about work. Again, same old story that it is a quiet month with all the public holidays and that it should pick up soon. I am waiting for this card to be used!

My fat fingers are there to cover the agency in case you are wondering.

To answer your question, yes every day does feel like a holiday. I am a lady of leisure not by choice! I am getting good at being productive as the day passes. I went grocery shopping at Tesco Express which is a 2 minutes walk away. It is the equivalent to a mini IGA.

I thought my posts were lacking pics of me so I had to open the door of the main building and pop the camera on the mailbox table and quickly do a timer shot before anyone else walked in. Ta da! I only managed one shot so forgive me if I am looking disheveled here.
I don't know if you are interestd in what I bought today. What's in the bags:

Half junk and half healthy stuff. I intend to cook cous cous and chicken tomorrow or the day after.

I've only been here a week plus and guess which section of the cupboard is mines? I don't know how other people can have empty cupboards. I guess I like to cook and take great pleasure in seeing a stocked cupboard. Imagine how it would look in a month. The fridge is less exciting. I have to share a tiny shelf in something that is more of a bar fridge.

Since you posted a jewellery purchase. Let me share with you mines from a few days ago.
When I saw it I HAD to have it. My parents would never let me have a pet growing up. Fish was the easiest option and I have the fondest memories of getting my first two pet goldfishes Nemo and Smoogie. They were seriously my dear life and I believe I actually CRIED when they died (and this was when I was 20 I believe! I get attached to everything and anything too easily)  Every time I pick up this necklace it makes me smile and Ithink about them. I know some people think fish are slimy and gross, but this one is so adorable!  Look at it's mouth! It's as if it's trying to tell you something.I am yet to wear it. But I know when I do, I know I won't stop smiling. I love wearing and seeing things that do that to you.

Time for bed! MUAH! Enjoy your week of volleyballing!