that's it

It's the last day of 2008. We bid farewell to a eventful year.

USA finally replaced the douche bag with Obama, the world is going through a economic depression, global warming is real, unrest everywhere, a "man" gave birth to a baby, Nicole Kidman gave birth to a baby, Spice Girls got together and broke up again, Madonna and Guy Ritchie split, and famous people died ( RIP Heath Ledger, Charlton Heston, YSL, Paul Newman...)...

Still we count our blessings...
Mountain man and I got married, moved to Beijing, watched the first ever Beijing Olympics, caught Radiohead LIVE in Osaka, and most recently we experienced the coldest temperature in Harbin ... It was ALL GOOD.


We're thankful to God for what He has granted us this year, for His mercies and bountiful blessings.

Mountain Man and i wish everyone a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR. Keep your jobs, travel the world, recycle, floss your teeth, exercise, and don't dig your nose in public.

Harbin 2008

We've survived... i won't say we came back in 1 piece. My fingers suffered some minor frostbites, and Mountain man's toes are still numb. But now that we've gone through what they call north pole weather, beijing is just chilly.

Here's a not so brief recap of the holiday...

Day 1:
First meal was at the Russian Cafe, a very popular eatery recommended by every taxi driver, guide book, tour guide. (After this meal, we ate jiao zi all the way, every meal.)

I know i look super unfriendly here, but i believe i was hungry.

After lunch we headed to Zhong Yang Da Jie, the Orchard Rd of Harbin.Followed by Church of St Sophia...


We end every night with a visit to the local pubs. Play chor dai dee and drink and drink.
We found some student pub and the drinks were dirt cheap. 3 drinks for 35rmb!


Day 2:
Yabuli is where the Winter Olympics will be held. It's quite a well-known landscape in HeiLongJiang. It's the Whistler of China, or dare i say a more scenic version of Whistler.
The bus ride took us 6 over hours in total (back and forth). We were not told beforehand that we'd be experiencing temperatures below -30 degrees, we were quite ill prepared. After sitting in an open gondola for 10 minutes with the wind was howling at the same time, i won't say that my fingers were numb. in fact, the hurt so much that i thought the skin was splitting. It was cold enough to freeze a dead cow. We really thought we were going to die. I didn't manage to take alot of pictures. But i wish i had cos the view was really really really breathtaking.
Day 3:
I think day 3 was the most fun. cos we got used to the temperature, and we did lots. First stop was to the Siberian Tiger Park. its safari style- u sit in a van and it goes round the different cages. U can even buy live chicken and live goats to feed the tigers. of course we could only afford the cheapest animal...this was wht's left of one of the chickens. Can u see the paw?

There are 2 key sculpting events in Harbin. The snow sculpture, and the ice sculpture.I ce scultpure is more of a night thing, but even during the day it's impressive. Blocks of ice will be taken from the nearby rivers to build the ice city. it's just amazing.



Harbin Count:
Layers of top worn: 3 (thin thermal, fleece/wool jacket, down jacket)
Layers of bottom worn: 2 (thick thermal, Jeans or skii pants)
Head gear: 2 (Beanie and jacket hood)
Gloves: inner and outer gloves (which is useless at temp below -30)
Coldest temperature: -30 degrees up on Yabuli's peak (not including windchill)
AVG Number of Jiaozi per person: 60 (each plate has average 20 jiaozis, and we ate almost every meal, 3 to 4 plates each time)
Number of live chicken sacrificed at the siberian tiger zoo: 4
Number of falls: 2 (Mountain man and Jack fell once each)


Click here to see the rest of our pictures.

Red and Green! (Jackson comes to visit!)

We organised a simple potluck dinner at our place on christmas eve. I hope everyone had fun. I love house parties, even if it means having to prepare for the food 2 days in advance.

Menu:
Crackers and dips (caviar, sundried tomatoes cheese, Raddichio)
Fried Keropok
Sambal Belachan
Bakua Salad
Chicken Curry with bread (provided by gingerblossom & hubby)
Tempura Prawns (provided by qoofamily)
Char bee hoon
Tiramisu
Fruits (provided by Shin)

After that we played wii and laughed until our cheeks hurt... click here to see all of the pictures.

my feet has gone to heaven....

first of all, MERRY CHRISTMAS to all readers, family, friends, loved ones.... Have a jolly Christmas eve celebration. I love eves... in fact i prefer eves to actual days. Cos there's anticipation and excitement and those are really the fun part. The actual day usually passes by too quickly. In 2 days, we'll need to take down our Christmas decorations. Not that we have any up... except for maybe a Christmas wreath handmade my mommy.

Anyway, so we're gonna host a house party tonight, in 2 hours i'll be stressing over food and i cross my fingers and hope tht i don't screw up anything, I don't want to ruin such an important day!

Tomorrow, Jlo, Mountain man and I are headed to HARBIN! i am about the experience the lowest temperature i have ever gone to (lowest -20 degrees celcius). I am nervous about the cold, but also super excited! i don't think i've felt this excited before a holiday before... i want to be super prepared for the cold cos i don't want to spoil anybody's fun. I borrowed/bought lots of thermal, jackets, gloves, hats... even a thermal flask so i can drink water. Apparently at -20, ur average plastic bottle turns to ice.

So footwear is a big big headache. It's especially important to keep feet warm cos u get chills easily when ur feet is cold. This morning i put on my wellies hoping that it'd keep me warm. But NO, the opposite happens. The wellies trap the cold in and soon enough, the feet is frozen even after spending hours in the office. I was so cold by 1130am and thought crap, i need to go home to change shoes. Then i passed by (no actually i made a slight detour) to the UGG boutique and tried on one of these babies...(UGG Australia Sunburst)


OMG.... the first feeling was that of relieve. like... Aaaaggghhh..... like the first drop of water u drink after a water fast, or taking a very good crap, only even better. why didn't i think of it earlier, like 2 winters ago. i can live in these boots. i'll never take them off again till winter is over. (kidding, wht would i do with my 7 or 8 other pairs of boots) Anyway these are WAY more comfortable than the classics, it's more hugging and fitting. the classics are very plonketie plonk.






Anyway, guess which celebs have the same model as i do!!!

Eva longoria (middle) has a sand coloured one. i don't know why i know this, but when she first got her paycheck, the first thing she bought was a pair of UGG.



Kate Walsh- or shd i say Dr Addison Montgomery (my heart goes out to the new divorcee, broke up just after 1 year)

Vanessa Minilo. Nick Lachey's girlfriend. It's ok if u don't know who vanessa or nick are, they're so boring and uninteresting anyways.

And i found this on Wiki.

Tips on wearing Uggs. Read the bold tip, it's super funny! but honestly, there are more manly designs. i recommend Uggs to anyone.

• The benefit of wearing Ugg Boots is that you don't need to wear socks with them even in cold weather as they are warm inside.
• Although you do not have to wear socks with Uggs, wearing them prevents damage to the fur inside the shoe.
• You can buy some cleaning products specifically made for Ugg Boots. *Waterproofing them using spray prevents water damage.
• Men usually look best wearing Ugg boots with jeans, but probably should not wear them at all
• Wearing Ugg boots with skinny jeans prevents having to tuck them in every so often.
• You don't have to tuck your jeans into your uggs. Boot-cut jeans over uggs look really cute too!
• Most people think uggs look best with jeans.

Top 10 List

David Letterman has a segment in his show called top 10 list. it can be a list of whatever...

This is Tom Cruise's top 10 list of craziest things people say about him on the internet.


And this is Jim Carrey's top 10 list of things he'd say "Yes" to. This was to promote his new movie Yes Man.

You get the drift.

So i wanna do my own top 10 list. Top 10 list of new year resolutions i will never fulfill but really really want to.

10. Lose weight and be stick thin like Victoria beckham. Own her baubles and take over her closet (that's actually 3 things)

9. Go platinum blonde and actually pull it off.

8. Quit shopping.

7. Pronounce "coinnosseur". (i've been trying for the past 5 years i think)

6. Learn driving. (mountain man will say NOT in a million years)

5. Have boobs like Blake Lively's. But before that i need to go for lipo and staple my stomach (sorry, 3 things again).

4. Read all (or just one) of the penguin classics.

3. Stem my addiction to purseblog forum.

2. Improve my geography and not mix up morroco with moscow again.

And number 1 on my top 10 list is..... (drumrolls).......

1. Learn how to "mo pai" ie, feel mahjong tiles and know wht it is even before i look at it.

Create ur top 10 list of whatever pls!! i wanna know and also cos i'm so bored since it's the lull period.

Orr i wan for kreesmas is tchu...

His hand movements and falsetto parts are the classic! Merry Christmas everyone...

Too much gossip

i spent the entire weekend cooped up at home cos it was minus 11 degrees. thank goodness i got myself a boxset of Gossip Girl Season 2. I realised that i actually missed half a season (a good 6 epis) of season 1 cos the writers' strike screwed up the pirated schedule in China. So i had to read recaps of previous seasons online first before devouring the new season.

As usual, i love the clothes and handbags of Serena Van Der Woodsen, but i am SO SURE that Blake Lively had a boob job (on top of a nose job) ...It's super round this season. i don't remember her showing off so much in season 1.


The formula of this show is simple, dig dirt and blackmail. The scriptwriters are also using the oldest trick in the book that keeps us glewed (it's "glued"! gah!! damn u china) unto the show is UST- unresolved sexual tension (A wants to sleep with B but A won't admit to B, to satisfy A's craving A ends up sleeping with C, and then D happens to see A sleeping with C and takes a picture and sends to gossip girl, and then B finds out from gossip girl and get's angry, and then sleep with E to take revenge, and E happens to be hired by D to destroy B...) . U get the gist.

After watching 6 epis in a row, i dreamt that my best friend tried to backstab me and steal mountain man away.

SPOILER: (HIGHLIGHT THE NEXT ROW...)
Aaron will not be in the show for long...

Rebecca Minkoff for christmas!!

Morning After Bag Mini (MAM), Tangerine. Gorgeous smooshy orange leather... and it's the perfect size. I love love love it!!

Thank you mountain man... *flutter eyelids*

buhbye addy

Addy goes home tomorrow. me sad... =...( hate seeing people leave. Good friends are really hard to come by, especially those who can play mahjong. =P

will miss u, take good care and COME BACK soon! We'll keep intouch via facebook and each other's blog k.

Hearty Breakfast

I love Great Grains with dates, raisins and pecans.

Beady Eyes...

Shannon's at it again. My very creative niece drew us another portrait, complete with speech bubbles... Of course we burst out laughing when we saw his beady eyes. Shannon shannon...


her previous art pieces...

Missing mommy's food...

My mom is not the housewifey type. She's a career woman, she brings home the dough. She never asked me to do my homework, she never really cared if i got an A or an F. In fact, she used to ask me to ponteng school to go shopping with her.

But ever since she went into semi-retirement, she became a little more domesticated. She discovered a hidden talent... She whips up a storm in the kitchen. I hope she passed on some of her creative culinary skills to me.

This is very simple fried egg with spring onion...but somehow it looks damn delicious!

"sayur asem". Tom Yum of Indonesia...

SAMBEL terasi... (sambal belachan). It's so yummy my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Airport

I'm at one of those standing stations at T3... There's plenty of time to kill and i've spent WAY too much money to be shopping anymore. I was so bored that i had a bowl of laksa even though i just had bakuteh at around 130pm. I'm a pig...

Blue Bling

I collected this from the jeweller today and i am completely mesmerised by it. Seriously can't stop staring at it.

The royal blue sapphire is a wedding present from Mountain man, but i didn't go to a good jeweller to set it the first time so i really hated it. This was the previous setting, the workmanship was seriously poor.

PS: If you haven noticed, i bought MK and Ashley's INFLUENCE!! i dig them twins...

****************************************************

Anyway, today i was at the lucky plaza bus-stop trying to figure out which bus to take to Marina Square. It was extremely packed so i kinda had to squeeze through the bodies to get to the bus route directions. Then i came across the RUDEST women i've ever met. The conversation happened something like this...

Me: Excuse me, excuse me (while meandering through the crowd)

Rude Lady: PLS don't push (and she pushed me while telling me not to push her)

Me: But i said "excuse me"... i needed to get across.

Rude Lady: Yah you said "excuse me" but i have the right not to move away for you. (i was like ??????like tht also can ah)

Me: What do you mean, when people say excuse me, it's only polite to let them pass...

Rude lady: no no no (she waves her fugly fat index finger at me)

Me: Don't you dare wave your finger at me (I wave my long and slender index finger back at her). You are so rude, you owe me an apology...

Rude lady: you are the one who is rude.

Me: Excuse me, you have no manners!

...and the crowd kinda took over the bus stop so it was impossible to continue quarrelling even though i wasn't done. I wanted to hurl every insult i knew at her, I even wanted to whip out my hp and take a picture of her horrible face to post on this blog... But she disappeared fast enough. GOOD FOR HER. Better don't wait till i unleash my china trained wrath upon her. I'll end off with a Krrrruuueeeeek... PUI!

my last night in Singapore

The girls and i are reunited at last (minus yuen who is down with flu).... One good thing about the economic crisis is tht there's nothing to do in the office, so everyone's free to meet up on a monday night. I call these girls the "constant" in my life. It's been so many years but whenever we get together, we'll gossip about more or less the same people and laugh at more or less the same jokes... and that's precisely what i need. I need to know that there are some things in my life that are predictable. Friends who don't judge but empathize with whatever insanity life deals you. Friends who have seen, suffered and endured your idiosyncracies and yet still love you.

When we get together...(Dang Wo Men Tong Zai Yi Chi)

My mom says tht it's my first trip back to "niang jia" (mother's home) since i got married. Even though it wasn't tht long ago that i met them, it was just great seeing everyone again. The kids have grown a little taller and alot smarter. We're convinced that Shannon swallowed a microphone AND a radio. She can talk non-stop for 2 hours!!

Click HERE to see the rest of our photos...

Notice

Mountain Man and Beach Girl are returning to sunshine and humidity island...

4th - 16th December
(will be in Jakarta 8th-11th December)

See you soon!

Lady Suri

Wall Street crashed to an all time low yesterday, but i'm glad it doesn't take much for me to laugh, smile, giggle...


Now this little princess over here is Suri Cruise, d.o. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. She's the cutest thing in Hollywood now. And she's been named Forbes #1 most inflential child celebrity. (why would anyone come up with such boliao ranking right?)...


Anyway, there's this controversy going on. Suri lives in NYC and it's freaking cold over there now. But she walks around like this.. no jacket, while her parents and bodyguards are all wrapped up like bak zhang (chinese dumpling tht is wrapped in many layers of leaves).

Of course then there were a lot of criticisms flying around- some called Katie an irresponsible mother, Suri a spoilt brat, and even more ludicrous accusations of Suri being a robot. You know wht's weirder than scientology? it's people who think tht scietologists give birth to mechanical parts. Anyway, so finally, Suri starts sporting jackets. Cute ones like these...

Tom also tried to rectify the situation by stating in a recent interview that Suri is a total lady. She loves her dresses... Put her in jeans and she'll run off and come back in a dress. Well can't blame her for being one right, growing up in hollywood and all. so yesterday i saw this on Perez Hilton (bless him), the comment cracked me up super bad.

In case u can't see properly, it's Suri trying to take off her coat and the comment says "They (paps) need to see the dress, Dad!"

Kids do the darnest things!

This is Lionel (we call him Lele), s.o. Bernard and Vernon. He is the most drama little boy i know. Rub his eyes till its red (but no tears), look sad, roll around on the floor and call for "help!"... He makes me laugh. And also, he is every mother's dream. He loves vegetables!!! tht's so unusual...

Anyway this was him "shedding crocodile tears" after he got scolded by daddy. *hik hik* =...(

Mountain man = Yeti?

Poor Mountain man has been lugging around a big foot lately. I don't know what he did, but it's been swollen for days. It's about 1 degree here and he's been limping around in slippers cos he can't fit into his shoe.

Element Fresh

Element fresh has been my canteen for the past 2 years. Or at least whenever i'm in shanghai. It's an upmarket eatery targeted at health-conscious expats.

Food in china is generally oily, salty and mostly unhealthy, so Element Fresh really satisfies a strong needstate for people who want to eat better and healthier. I love it also because it has very good service in-store. You can see passion in the restaurant managers in delivering the correct orders, and screw ups are always dealt with prompt solutions. I mean there is no perfect service in China, but their effort is commendable.

One key reason why i can keep going back to EF is also because they have a very wide selection of food- salads, sandwiches (warm and cold), asian sets, smoothies and juices. Not only that, they also constantly update their menu by season- they "feed" us with constant new news so we don't get bored.

My favourite item on the menu was Spicy Tilapia Fish, but they've recently updated it to Spicy Citrus Tilapia Fish... Yummm...



They've also recently launched a loyalty programme allowing redemption not only on Element Fresh outlets, but also across brands and activities that contribute to a complete healthy lifestyle. For example, accumulate 6000 points and redeem a free biotherm moisturiser.

Basically, this is what i call great marketing.

FAT and FREAKING OUT

I sorta knew i was putting on weight after coming here. I've been avoiding the scales, i'm in denial.

An hour ago, i tried on my work pants for this upcoming meeting i'm having in Shanghai and DARN i have problems zipping up! when i eventually did, there were these crinkles around my thighs... GASP! to ensure that it wasn't the pants tht shrank, i tried on my wedding cheongsam and jialat! it really is very tight around the tummy area. Boo..... I really need to go on diet.

serves me right for having a 5 hr brunch today at St Regis. it was great through... Mumm champagne and lots and lots of caviar. Snow crab, king crab, abalone, sashimi, and then more caviar. thinking about it makes me wanna go back there and eat more of those yummy things. *tahan tahan*

celebs update

i haven't done my celeb updates for a while...

First up.

Did u know that julio iglesias has 9 kids? Oldest is 37, youngest 18 months. This little oggiewoggieboochie over here is his youngest- his name is Guillermo. With handsome genes like his, he's doing the world a favour by contributing to the handsome population in this world. Go Julio!

Note to mountain man: he is 67 years old. we got time. hehe...

Next up.

Move over George and Johnny... Hugh Jackman has been crowned the sexiest man alive by PEOPLE magazine. Aye!

Hehllo *gives hugh the sultry pouty lips look*

my love

& my obsession for handbags continue...

Proenza Schouler PS21 shoulder bag...
Mary-Kate olsen has been spotted carrying a new baby. I love croc skin. I am adding to my list of Holy Grails...

This has been on my list for a while. Rebecca Minkoff's Morning After Bag (Mini) in Tangerine. And it's available on taobao. i don't have to pay an arm and leg for it. It's the right size. a fabulour colour...

Name necklace continued

for those who are interested to make a name necklace, go to www.mynamenecklace.com. It's free shipping if u can wait...i waited about 20 days for mine.

Or u can just google carrie name necklace... it's all over the web. =)

Look what came in the mail...

To reciprocate Mountain Man inking my name on him, i made myself a name necklace! i was so afraid tht it'd get lost in the chinese post office, but phew i finally got it just now. It's super corny i know, don't roll ur eyes at me (mountain man, i know u're pursing ur lips and going "hmmm" as u read this). It's quite BIG, and the gold is quite yellow, not the matte rosy kind... but i still like it. i modelled it and PSed the photo it to make it look cool. *squeal*