31 Days of August

It's almost time to say bye to summer and hello to autumn, my favorite time of the year.

Double rainbow & Wanchai area from my office. =)  Facebook newsfeed was filled with snapshots of the rainbow spanning across the Victoria Harbor..really amazing. And reminds me of Lucky Charms cereal! I did a quick google because everything to do with cereal brings back happy memories and I had no clue that each marshmallow actually have meaning. haha Hearts - Power to bring things in life, Shooting stars - power to fly, Horsehoes - power to speed things up, Clovers - luck but you will never know what kind of luck you'll get, Blue Moons - power of invisibility, Rainbows - instantaneous travel from place to place, Balloons - power to make things float, and Hourglass - power to control time.  Yeah.. instantaneous travel or power to fly would be my pick.

Less than 20 days before our Italy trip, our honeymoon getaway :P Hotels, flights & car rentals are all settled, just got to research on the restaurants and narrow down a few places that we really want to try.  Non vedo l'ora di aver delizioso gelato.

Our photo album collection from A to R since we started dating.  I think when we go on vacation or do special activities we take alot of photos. It's just that I don't feel like facebook is the right outlet for posting random things..don't want to flood your feeds with my mo-lew-ness.  Anyways although J really likes technology and having the latest gadgets, I think we're still pretty old school when it comes to certain things like printing our photos.  

August has been a very busy and fun month. Went boating a couple of times and lots of foodies with the Lee family.  Here's a close up of the cherry in between the rice that's all golden brown on the sides. Sweet element for dinner? Like! It looks burnt on top from the sugar but actually it's fine. 

Keeping with the cherry theme, we had the black forest cake from Cova for J's 28th birthday, his childhood favorite.  I've never had a proper black forest cake with fresh cherries so this has set the bar pretty high.  Nice layering of chocolate cake, whipped cream and cherries.  These photos were taken a few weeks back when Kevin and Amber were in town but starting this past week J and I tried to stick to a healthy diet with no (or in my case minimal) sugar and wheat.  J already started this for 5 days but I have to admit at around 3 or 4pm in the afternoon I start scrummaging for snacks in the office.  :P

Okay, here's what we had for lunch today..salad and two eggs. I used to put tobasco on a lot of my foods but now it's cayenne pepper. Do you like that extra kick in your food?  heh I love talking about organic and healthy foods. Although I do find it very hard to resist treats and junk foods sometimes, it's so important to look after our health and make sure that you don't have a weak immune system.  Health and happiness always~

Family Assembly meeting in Tai Po. We're all really proud of J and also Kevin for his presentation on the Arkyd Space telescope.  It's nice to see all the G5 (5th generation) kids being active and contributing to the family.. As for me I try to support wherever I can, 120% whenever possible :)

Whoa R44 landing on a boat. We used Danielle's DSLR to zoom in and we're 99% sure it's Michael Wong. Papa-paparazzi style. hehe Anyways I think he was taking people around HK because he would be gone for like 20 minutes then return at least 10 times that afternoon. Now that's arriving in style.

I wonder how many people start learning ballet when they're adults but seeing young kids who are so passionate is really inspiring for me. Last week I brought J to watch the Swan Lake performance by the Hong Kong Ballet.  It was his first time watching a live performance and we had a fun date night the same day.  Oh I found Miko Fogarty on instagram, the cutie from First position..hehe and if you want to check out some beautiful shots of ballerinas, check out Ballet Zaida - website here.  It's created by a professional ballet photographer and it showcases thousands of talented individuals in a naturesque environment. And of course I totally have a girl crush on Mary Helen, the lady that trained Natalie Portman in Black Swan.

So during lunch this week we were strolling through HK Records together and J decided to buy the Massive Attack LP. We don't have a vinyl player so he went to Mong Kok/Sham Shui Po by himself that same day (while I had ballet class) and found a second hand Technics player! He also bought me the Tchaikovsky Swan Lake LP by the London and New York symphony! Love love love.. now I can listen to the dance of the swans at my own pleasure at home.  heh We went back to MK to check out what else was available at Ducky Records. They have a really nice collection of classical symphony, piano, and other old LPs. Hong Kong is full of surprises..what might seem like a hole in the wall can turn into a world of jewels. You never know what you might find behind all these doors.   Currently enjoying Daft Punk's 'Random Access Memories' right now (brand new LP). ;) 

Apollo 101

A few weeks back my boss got together some of our SG colleagues and organized an introductory pistol/rifle training course. Together with his two good friends, they used their military and krav maga experience to teach students a variety of safety and tactical shooting techniques. Many people in Hong Kong play Airsoft & other war games but not too many people learn the discipline and safety measures of using such weapons. It was a great getaway trip, flying to Manilla on Friday night and spent the weekend practicing a variety of drills.  Aside from a minor bullet case burn, we all had pretty exciting time. Having that adrenaline kick in while you keeping in mind safety, speed and accuracy.

Saturday morning @ 09:00 starting the day with a 20km run. heh just joking. We had a korean buffet breakfast to kick start our day before arriving at the Artemis range for a briefing and introduction to our glock 17. We learned how to strip the weapon, oil and clean it before use.  After the course finished, something that was so foreign felt like our good friend. 

Using an orange safety plug before loading real ammo into our magazines. Load > make ready > gun > unload & make clear :) 

Lunch time! Hearty filipino food at noon and then a 3:00pm snack which surprised all of us when it turned out to be a big plate of tomato bolognese spaghetti.  This range is lush & green like a mini resort but also a rural element as we saw so many animals like cattle, chicken and goats roaming around.

A hairless saggy but very clean white moo moo.

<3

Just chilling after a big meal..

Rain or shine, the practice must go on :)

Posing with the blue gun which I'd like to get one for home.

J on the 100m range with his M4. Pretty sharp shooter :)

Behind the scenes of their 5.11 photo shoot.

Together with the students, instructors and safety/med officers. And of course got to have a Charlie's Angel shot :) These two photos were taken by Anna Varona, our fab photographer. 

SAFE/ASI team: Don't mess with FIS, BCM and OSM ;)

S, M, L, XL

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things

Right now at this present time in life, what brings a smile to your face? Warm words of encouragement after a long day at work, a home cooked bowl of chicken noodle soup or simple white congee when you've caught the cold, a photograph with your family or friends on that awesome trip, a surprise from your significant other or just relaxing at home with a nice cup of tea whilst watching TLC ;)? Well for me, at this current moment I'm looking back at some random photos and a lot of them made me smile. Maybe one of these days I'll post some photos from my Jan/Feb North America trip. So much fun and amazing food. I'm really craving for that next vacation which is coming up in exactly 72 days.  

No. 1 on my happy list: yellow ducks <3

My close friends know that I totally squeal when I see a cute yellow duck. It all began like 5 years ago when I went to Tokyo with Karen. I got this lil coin pouch and it's been with me ever since. I think I brought the duck craze to HK...and when the giant rubber duck from Florentijn Hofman came to town, daaannng the city went crazy for duck-themed products. I have to admit that I did go check it out in Tsim Sha Tsui, pushing past the tourists and locals alike trying to take photos of this adorable balloon sculpture. What's not to like and I'm glad I got to to see it. o'.'o 

No. 2: Sugar Cravings

Yes, as one might tell from my instagram photos, I take alot of dessert photos. I can't help it and I try occasionally to take less obsessive omnomnom photos. I've been trying some gluten free products and anyone in HK should totally check out Little Giant in Causeway Bay. They sell a nice variety of gluten free and organic foods (Dr. Schar is awesome!) Nevertheless once in a while, one does need to indulge and overload on sugar!! ^^ 

No. 3: Buying silly things

haha  a surprise online purchase from J. The famous ostrich pillow!!! haha Yeah it's totally hilarious and nerdy. I'd bet it'd get alot of weird stares if I wore it in public.  

No. 4: Cooking with my man. 

We've got our aprons on, radio streaming and it's just pretty therapeutic chopping and stirring away.  Ever since we've got the persian rice cooker in LA, we've been doing tah dig (crispy rice) ALOT. I never ate rice before during meals but now I can't get enough. Something about basmati rice, they're so fluffy and light. Nehoo the other day we made slow cooked baby back ribs for the first time with our own spice marinade and a slathering of Stubbs bbq sauce afterwards. I was telling my mom how the meat was falling off the bone because we cooked it for 2 hours but she laughed because she preferred it to be chewy and quick bake in the oven. Nevertheless definitely will try to do more Chinese soup and change up the dishes. How on earth did my mom cook for us almost every single day.. and until I was in my teens I don't really remember helping her that much much. 

No. 5: My recent love ~ballet~

About 3 weeks ago I began taking ballet class with my friend and starting in July I'm going to take 2 classes per week to train on flexibility and other spiffy moves hehee. You might thing golly isn't she abit old to be starting ballet, well the answer is no. I'm going to see how far I can go and I look forward going on pointe in approx 1 years time (hopefully less if I gain enough strength). hehe I always enjoyed watching ballet performances and although I did take some ballet classes when I was 5 years old, it never occurred to me that I should try again until my high school friend recently asked me to join her.  So here I am, loving it and wishing that I started earlier. For those who want a good glimpse of the lives of some talented youngsters, check out 'First Position' an American documentary about kids/teens who train obsessively in hopes of earning a spot in elite schools. For me of course I do it part time and it's a nice change from the using running/elliptical machines.  Oh additionally I really enjoy stretching too :P  Of course long gone are my gymnastic years but would be nice if one day I can touch my knees with my nose. I've never been this excited for class and it's also nice having that time aside just for yourself. What do you look forward to accomplishing? Be it something trivial or large, everyone should keep up their interests and/or pick up a new hobby. :)

I see blue hairs growing

Have to admit the weather in Hong Kong hasn't been too great recently. It's been raining alot but when there is sunshine, everyone is just thrilled. :) I think we take too many things for granted, in particular very simple things like fresh air. Yes I know HK is classified as being polluted but hey better than Singapore this past week. It shot past 300 PSI and there was an urgency to distribute N95 masks to all staff there. It's unfortunate that other countries such as Indonesia aren't even get the media's attention with all these forest fires be it natural or man-made. 

Meanwhile, when there is sunshine on the weekends we were lucky to enjoy it on the boat..twice this month :) I must try to take advantage of this hot summer weather. Before you know it, that crisp autumn weather will come round again.

 

Beautiful Tai Long Wan in Sai Kung

First time at paddle boarding! We went paddled all the way to the beach and back.. It was really fun and not as tiring as I thought. Good core muscles? I highly doubt it. :P

 

Round 2 - just this Sunday after T3 passed. HKO claimed it was going to be raining the whole weekend but we got some clear skies.

At the Tin Hau Temple, Joss House Bay built in 1266. Tin Hau is Goddess of the Sea and protector of the Fishermen, plus little did we know it's the oldest and largest Tin Hau Temple in Hong Kong. After Bai Sun off we went to Lei Yu Mun for lunch.

Crispy pork and other delicious stir fried foodies. Ate too much and approximately 30 minutes after lunch, started getting motion sickness and kept burping this bad boy out +_+"

Jet pack rocketeer? heh We've seen it on tv before but seeing it in real life is so much cooler :)

Eat Dance Laugh

A few weeks back I went to Bali for Peter and Carmen's wedding. I probably should have stayed longer but it was perfect and I couldn't have asked for more..relaxed and just soaked up some rays after consecutive days of rain in Hong Kong.

Yay for sunshine!

Seafood and SC friends *omnomnom

The balinese massage at InterCon was really good but just make sure they don't play the balinese xylophone on repeat for 90 minutes. XP

My pretty nude pumps girlfriends <3

Breath taking view of the ocean. 

From a touching proposal on the ski slopes of Japan to the fun filled wedding in Bali, the lovely high school sweet hearts exchanged their vows in front of close family and friends.  Congrats to Mr and Mrs Kim! :) 

Ho leng ah

The romantic and whimsical constellation of lanterns floating above us 

Time to say bye :( Although I had a very brief vacay, it was a great getaway trip and the Singapore layover was super cool too. We went to the fish spa for a pedicure, sun bathed by at the airport pool (very Anthony Bourdain I know) and had some yummy Singapore foodies. 

 

 Perfect drink to make my belly really happy =D Until next time, have loads of fun because summer is just around the corner!

A New Chapter

So it's been over 4 months since our big wedding day. Some people ask us hows married life like are there any big changes since moving in together?  I'm pleased to announce that the Q1-2013 has turned out with very positive results. heehee jokes aside it's been good and we've also been cooking more healthy meals than before. In the past we used to be ordering subway/ebeneezers/tsui wah all the time but now we definitely try to eat healthy meals wherever possible.

After coming back from the US in Jan/Feb, Taco Bell has truly inspired us to make our own crunchy hard shell tacos. So darn good especially the carne asada beef with our own mix of herbs (i.e. cumin, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne, chili powder, salt, pepper etc)

Trying to make healthy salads and persian rice most days of the week. It might seem like we're health nuts but I have to admit we still have our occasional jee pao dan go and haagen dazs ice cream cups. Got to have that after a long week. ;)

Oo we also got 3 new goldfishes from Tung Choi Street in Hong Kong. We were having trouble getting the cycle going during the first week which unfortunately led to the death of 2 goldfishes.. The third one had a rough 8th day (he started floating upside down) but we nursed him back to health and he's looking good now! Abit lonely I'm sure but it's been a few weeks and the ammonia levels are down to a safe level. yay!

And spending alot of quality time together. Although J has to travel to GZ quite often, I try to keep busy with errands or exercise after work. Can't believe it's almost May which means summer is just around the corner!