For A Cousin

This post is dedicated to a cousin of mine who is going to study further on public health at Harvard. :)

Wei Aun!

Picture taken at Pantai Seafood Restaurant, during his farewell dinner on Sunday.

He's an awesome cousin, and in some ways a nice role model.

- Shot taken in Kuala Terengganu inside the car.

Thanks for the happy and sad times, the ears as well as thoughts and advices, the fun and laughter, the risk taking and adventurous times, the motivations, the teachings and guidance, and so much more. You're a great cousin, so many things I want to learn from.

Thanks also for taking me out for a one week trip to Kuala Terengganu together with our bigger family at Uncle Koshy's place. It was an awesome trip and I really enjoyed myself and appreciate that unforgettable holiday. It is also unexpected that many of my dream wishes were acomplished there. Amazing moments!

Nice shot. Laughing pictures look happy! :D Haha. Made you a little meaningful gift. :)

(Picture after dinner at Pantai Seafood)

Thanks for everything. Take good care of yourself, have fun wherever you may go, forget BMI's without bone weight calculation, stay strong always and may God Bless You all the time. Have a great study there! =)

(Picture of Wei Aun and Jeremiah during sunrise in Kuala Terengganu.)

Keep in touch!

Lil Handmades For Heart Eco

I love rainbows! :D Hand drawn on a mini paperbag book of 20 pages. Added a butterfly charm on the top right corner too! Know what I like about my paperbag books? You get to do anything you want in it and get creative! Doodle, scrapbook, notes, memories, etc! And best is, using black or white pens on it are awesome! As in, you can't see white ink on white paper right? Yeah. :P

'Teddy loves' bookmark card, I call it! Yup. Don't know if such bookmarks exist, but I somehow invented 'bookmark cards' because anyone may use a bookmark if they read a book, and would hardly slot a greeting card in a book to bookmark it right? So turning a card into a bookmark is kinda cool(to me at least) because the receiver would use it instead of keeping it somewhere untouched for a long time. So I guess it would be great to have a bookmark card, if you're not afraid you would lose it while carrying around xD

And guess what? I am actually giving them away! Yup, through Heart Eco! :D

 Checkout my giveaway post here or simply click the above banner! :) Spent one full day on the computer just to create the banner. Love it! :P Anyway, the giveaway is in conjuction with Heart Eco's very 1st Anniversary and our Facebook page launch! Good to know that it is open to Malaysian AND International bloggers. Awesome! Do check it out! Thanks! :)

Thanks for all the supports from everyone of you, really appreciate them! ♥

Garden Greens

Getting my first few tries of snapping pictures with the Canon EOS 500D.

Some settings aren't that good, but well, it's a good start! :)

6/29/2010 4:57:43 PM, Canon EOS 500D; 1/10s, f/5.6, ISO 400, at 55.0mm.

This was my first best picture taken with the camera. Love the dramatic focus of the object and the blur background effect! Wide aperture and small depth of field, that is. :)

 

6/28/2010 3:22:41 PM, Canon EOS 500D; 1/50s, f/4.5, ISO 640, at 33.0mm.

This is a Blood Lilly from the air well in my house. Or to understand, an indoor garden with no roof. Haha ._.

Yeah. I like this picture of it, the fact that it is taken halfway instead of the whole lilly like those on google images. :P

6/29/2010 4:53:10 PM, Canon EOS 500D; 1/10s, f/5.6, ISO 400, at 41.0mm.

A peek of the deck at the front of the house. :)

More pictures to come - stay tuned for upcoming posts!

Canon EOS 500D!

Guess what, dad bought this camera this morning at Lowyat!

And it was his birthday on 25th June, 60th birthday! - Happy Birthday Daddy! ♥♥♥

This was bought without me knowing and randomly today when he fetched me from school he showed me and I was like huh?? Oh my goodness gracious me! Ahhhhh!

Then I went home smiling to mummy when she came out hahahaha! Mum said first time I smiled when I come home. Hahaha!!

It's a family camera and well, I dont have to keep jumping for the stars in the sky anymore because its like right here in my hands! xD

It's really a dream come true because I really thought I would only have one during college when we are required to get one for the course. Its not mine though but at least I could use it! :D

You know, I've never studied and concentrated like how I did continuously for 2 over hours reading the 3 books given with the camera kit, the manual and 2 other books :P

This is the one, Canon EOS 500D, the 18-55mm kit.

Can't believe my dream came true *-*

Not for the camera look, but the pictures the camera can capture!

Love the full manual functions! We can set aperture, shutter speed, every single thing and.. No more wrong focused objects! Haha! Love the manual focus!

Oh man. Ahh! =D ♥ !

This is what I posted on Twitter and Facebook and I just want to remember this - I feel like the happiest girl on earth I can reach the stars tonight! xD

Weeeee! *Reached stars, crunches them. ...Honey stars xD

 

Apple Crumble Tutorial

Made apple crumble for the first time, tasted so good I made it again on the same day!

Oh yummylicious ._. I want more, but I ran out of apples!

So awesome, and I decided to share it with everyone of you how I made mine :D

Take note that recipe is estimated and I do it according to my likings.

So here it is:

You need apples - ofcourse. I love green apples. ♥

Then half bowl of flour, a quarter bowl of oats - optional, a quarter bowl of sugar, 2 tbsp butter, and some cinammon if you like :)

I used brown sugar but white sugar is fine too.

Alright. So first, preheat oven to 190°C.

Slice the apples into your desired shape - mine's cubed.

In a pot, cook it with 3 quarter of the amount of sugar on low heat until soft. Or if you want some crunch, up to you to adjust :)

Don't really need to add water because the juice of the apple will all come out and there you get your sugar melted. But when it is cooled back, it will absorb the juice again.

Then, mix the flour, oats, sugar and butter.

I used my hands for the first round but tried using the blender for the second round.

In my opinion, I prefer hand :) Clean hands ofcourse! Haha :P

Anyway just mix them up until you get it all well mixed.

It will still look like dry flour, but when you press it, it actually sticks. If not, add little bit of butter and try again. Up to you actually :)

Okay, for the apples! Place it in an oven-proof bowl.

You can choose to sprinkle the cinammon over it or like what I did for the second round, I mixed it in the pot after cooking it, then pour it over to the bowl.

Place it in your 190°C preheated oven for about 30 minutes or till golden brown.

If you're in a rush, you can actually increase the temperature a little and shorten the time. It's more for cooking the crumble so make sure you get your apples cooked the way you want it to be!

Now, make sure you eat it warm, not hot, and don't burn your tongue!

Enjoy! ♥

In Kuala Terengganu

It had been a great time here in Kuala Terengganu.
I went with my cousins and aunty to my other cousin's place.
Wei Aun drove, us - Ling Leng, 8th Aunt, Chung Han and myself.
Had been doing quite a lot of activities and all, it's so far the best trip, holiday, break or so.
But well, what made me go in the end was not because of what we're going to do, but who we're doing it with.
That sentence was told to me by Aun. I was pretty cold and stressed during that time plus the typical city life and exams that made me rather stick to all the programmed life than to take a break from it and relax. Glad I made the choice to go instead.
It's nice, the people, the food, the location, the activities, the chats, the thoughts, the church, the sky, the beach, and the Starz in the Sky...
I'm really glad God gave me this so far once in a lifetime experience and opportunity.. There were quite some things that really made my heart filled with joy.
So many things actually. Some of the simple dreams of mine, well... I've always wished to lay down on a big field of green grass at night, watching the starz in the sky. What I did was, watching the many many many stars in the big sky, free from city lights and roof or buildings blocking the view of the night sky, walking at the sand at night, hearing the waves, dipping your feet on the shallow sea water, enjoying the night breeze, looking at a really amazing scenery of a calm sea and clear sky. Isn't it amazing? I couldn't stop smiling! It makes me smile at my wonderful Creator. It's amazing to walk on the beach at midnight. :)
The food, they're not so...KL'ish. Haha. Enjoy eating my first dinner dish by my 10th Aunty, where we're staying, with my cousin Jeremiah. It's like my first time eating so much, refilling my plate for four times! xD I don't really know what are they called, because it's not exactly described of what I ate if you search online. But anyway, the rice is... brownish or something, supposed to be blue, Nasi Kerabu. Then you mix it with lots of leaves, don't know the other names of the herbs but I love the mint, and it's fresh from their garden! :) Theres the rendang too. Oh yea, you're supposed to mix it with some.... very salty gravy type of thing, so I only put very little. Then anchovies.. and the keropok, mashed. Traditionally, they use their hands to eat it. Just add whatever, and then mix it all up. The one I took most was the vegetables, sliced cucumber and cabbage or something? Sorry I'm so bad at explaining this dish, but it was really awesome. Said to be not so filling and people eat it for breakfast, because it's a healthier dish and contains a lot of greens.
Lots more actually, but just too much to explain for now :P
For the sea activities, not so sure about the names of them, but they were awesome. Thank Uncle Dan and family. Check them out man they're really awesome and their equipments are great :) What I did was kayaking, sailing and the paddling kayak. I really want to try surfing one day.
Micah joined us for bbq that night, really enjoyed :D
Cool food like chocolate banana and cheese eggplant, and melted marshmallows on a stick :P
I'll post the pictures once I take them from Wei Aun.
It's amazing, got to know God better too, really glad, got a boost of strength, I dont know how to explain, but what I can say is I had a really amazing awesome great wonderful time. :)
Thank Uncle Koshy, 10th Aunt and Jeremiah for letting us stay at your place, for taking us to places, for talking such great conversations and sharing so much with us :)
Thank 8th Aunt, Ling Leng, Wei Aun and Chung Han for such a great time! ;) We seldom get a chance for a family outing, and I'm glad we did ;)

God Bless All!

Jon Foreman - Your Love is Strong

Heavenly Father
You always amaze me
Let your kingdom come
In my world and in my life
You give me the food I need
To live through the day
And forgive me as I forgive
The people that wronged me
Lead me far from temptation
Deliver me from the evil one

I look out the window
The birds are composing
Not a note is out of tune
Or out of place
I walk at the meadow
And stare at the flowers
Better dressed than any girl
On her wedding day

So why do I worry?
Why do I freak out?
God knows what I need
You know what I need

Chorus (3x):
Your love is
Your love is
Your love is strong

The kingdom of the heavens
Is now advancing
Invade my heart
Invade this broken town
The kingdom of the heavens
Is buried treasure
Will you sell yourself
To buy the one you've found?

Two things you told me
That you are strong
And you love me
Yes, you love me

(Chorus 3x)

Our God in heaven
Hallowed be
Thy name above all names
Your kingdom come
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven
Give us today our daily bread
Forgive us wicked sinners
Lead us far away from our vices
And deliver us from these prisons

{ The Art of Pie and Tart Making by Jen's Homekitchen }

Here's Aunty Jen giving a demonstration of how to make pies and tarts at MPH The Curve yesterday.

I went there with my mum and my eldest sister. =)

She demontrated 3 different pies/tartlets. Mushroom tartlets, Pecan pie and Lemon Pucker pie.

Personally love the mushroom ones most, fits my taste perfectly! :D

Here's Kadri getting his hands on the food during the demonstation.

These are the pecans. :D

This is the mushroom tartlet I was talking about. With the parsley and thyme... Goodness me everything in that tart is my favourite! The tart base is so yummy and crunchy, and the awesome creamy taste of the tart fillings.. Ahh :)

Words can't describe the feeling when you get to munch these... And the smell of it filled MPH and I bet if I was a passer by I'd be attracted by it. Haha!

Check this out - http://jenshomekitchen.blogspot.com/ for much more!

And also support http://jensbirthdaywall.blogspot.com/ to raise funds for Jen's Homekitchen Food For The Homeless.

God Bless!

{ Strawberry }

Mmm, strawberry! They look so good I actually had a strawberry photo shoot. =P

Goodness :)

The strawberry siblings that came in the same box :D

I love this one. It looks hairy but.. They're frosts! Amazing!

Slices and slices of strawberry.

I ate a number of them while slicing :P

The juice...

Tell you, strawberry with cocoa chocolate is pretty awesome! Now you get the real strawberry chocolate :D

Look at the chocolate melt... Mmmmmm!

Picture of the day. I like this one :)

 

{ Ice Kacang Puppy Love }

Watched this movie today at Tropicana City mall this afternoon with my mum.

Mummy watching movie in cinema? No way! :D Haha, she did!! So nice of her, she actually was willing to watch a movie with me. She never did in 10 over years back. But she said she use to watch a lot during her schooling times. The first movie she watched in the cinema was with Janning, to watch Lion King. Haha :)

Actually yesterday, I was asking her can she watch this movie with me and all, and ofcourse it's not yes. But as I see from her face and reaction, there's hope =B And a while later she asked about it also. So there's definitely hope. Till night, she didn't disagree. So it's kind of agreed in some ways :P

Chose to watch this particular movie with her because it's her type, in the sense as in the starring characters like Ah Niu and all. Great to know that even her type of song was in the movie too xD The old song. Haha! So this movie totally was great for her to watch. I used my GSC birthday coupon to watch this, meaning I didn't have to pay for it. And while we went to buy a ticket for my mum, coincidencely, this girl on the other counter was like, 'Eh, you're watching this movie too? I can give you a ticket, I actually have an extra one =)'

Hers was a complimentary ticket too, so she didn't want my mum to pay her too.

So guess what? We both watched the movie for free. Haha! How gifted =P Awwe.

Plus, it's my mum's 'first time' watching. How awesome is that? :D

This movie is quite nice. Definitely nicer than the previous movie I watched.

I actually didn't get the ending of the movie, but I understood after asking my mum about it.

ps. I didn't know what puppy love means xD

Not bad la this movie :)

There's humour, love, Malaysian style etc.

Quite sad la though that they didn't end up together -.- No fairytale happy ending or something.

But I get the message this movie is passing, or the point of this movie =)

Here's the sneak peak of it:

{ Sixteen! }

It's an amazing birthday filled with happiness inside :D

Thank you all my friends and relatives so much sincerely from the bottom of my heart :) Thanks for allll the wishes! The feeling in my heart today was really unexpected. Thanks all for making my day so meaningful. God Bless alllll of you, All the Best in life! :) You all really made my day!

Before this, I was quite sad in a way and not expecting anything for my birthday this year because I couldn't get the chance to really celebrate and organise a party.

But I'd like to thank Chris, Jann, Nat, Marissa, Celine, Miriam, Nicola, Uncle Piang Kian, Ming Way and Shum for the birthday message sms!

Thank you Marissa for helping me plan a little celebration at school during recess :D Thank you to your mom too for baking the cake, and thanks for decorating the really cute and sweet cake =)

Thank you all my friends who were present at the canteen and being there with me =)

Thank you Marissa, Christian, Hann, Kadri, Daniel and Nisha for the gifts. ☺

Thank you to my patrol members who came for meeting and sang a birthday song for me.

Thank you daddy for bringing us to Subway for the first time for dinner!

Thank you to my family for being by my side!

Thank you to every single one of you who wished me on Facebook! That sweet spam was really unexpected :)

Last but not least, thank you Lord for everything!

[Strawberry Death By Chocolate cake]

I'd say my birthday was really a sweet one, filled with joy and happiness from the inside. :) Thank you!

Lots of love ♥;             

Newton Faulkner - Teardrops live (Massive Attack cover)

This is just awesome ;)

Movie?

Jov, JJ, Jann and I watched the premiere of Diary of a Wimpy Kid today at Tropicana City mall right after church.

We were late for the movie, and I was starving. So I passed by this bakery, hopped into it and grabbed something as fast as I could. It was this toasted butter bread or something.

So okay, Jann and I went into the cinema along with Jov, after she came out to pass us the tickets.. And phew! I was sweating already -.-

And guess what, the bread was so crunchy and delicious! I feel like buying it again :D

Didn't expect it to be even nice xD I was hungry you see. Hee.

Anyways, the movie was... Okay I guess? Seldom get the chance to watch movie la.. So yea. But I'm just not satisfied with the ending -.- It was quite random. Haha. :P Don't know? Or am I too old or something? xD

Oh my gosh! May came really fast! I haven't even plan my birthday! Noo!

Tomorrow is my nephew, Nathan's birthday, turning one! :D And the next day is my 16th.. *Gulp ._.

Well, at least I bought my cake ingredients today at Tesco after the movie. Yup, went all the way to Mutiara area.

Met up with Benson. Ate with Jann at KFC, listening to Benson playing with his voice on Audacity -.-

Went to Ikea, went to Popular.. Oh man, I saw this really cute book I'm so going to buy it one fine day! xD

No not a story book, note book! It's kawaii, really.

Anyway, got strawberry, chocolate and cocoa for the cake ingredients. I'm just going to bake a basic chocolate cake and 'edit' from there into a non basic chocolate cake. Haha :P I seriously do not know what to do la wei. Cooking competition is this Wednesday too, and Tuesday... Oh shoot! I just remembered I can't attend my scout patrol's meeting! Noo everything is clashing together, even Sunday! Exam is so near, I havent even catched up with the first term's! I need to study. I have no tuition to rely on. Pray things will be just fine. :)