" From ashes we are made, and into ashes we return."

Pancake Tuesday, and the beginning of my favourite season, LENT.

This evening was spent tossing pancakes in my kitchen, and stuffing our faces after ^^

Had a variety of fillings to go with it : Strawberries, lemon, sugar, kaya, strawberry jam, nutella, bananas, vanilla icecream & honey!

Yummylicious!

Ok I decided this recipe I got is the best so far of all those pancake recipes I've tried ^^

The pancakes were soft n slightly crispy on the edges ^^ Will share the recipe with you guys :

1. 175ml milk

2. 60g flour

3. 1 egg

4. 1 pinch of salt

Mix together n fry with some oil! Very simple ^^

Yup we did have quite abit of fun ^^

Tomorrow's Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent!

I have decided what to 'do and give up' this 40 days leading to Easter, but its a 'secret' until Easter comes!! Fingers crossed with God's grace I will stick to it ^^ I shall write myself a reminder to persevere ^^

Wish me luck!!

xoxo

On saturday Farah turned 24, but us dentistry people went to a Middle Eastern restaurant on Thursday to celebrate her 'pre-big day' with her!

We had a really good time, although all our 'planned surprises' kantoi-ed right in front of her eyes. Like how she saw her cake before we even went to the restaurant, how we took turns to sign the card in the toilet.. and how she saw ailing's phonecall to paran asking him to go to the toilet.. and paran trying to cover his ass by 'pretending it wasnt ailing', and ME saying loudly across the table.. " Na ge ka zai na li" ( where is the CARD? ).. n Farah calling out from the other end of the table, saying "PeiLian i understand what ure saying you know."

OMG SUPER KANTOI. SUPER DUPER KANTOI>.<>.<

Hahahaha it was all jokes n laughter after. ^^ This was the ultimate kantoi-ness of all kantoi-ed birthdays.

Saturday night was my housemate, Anita's birthday. ^^
Went to this nice fancy French restaurant ^^ and it was the biggest birthday celebration I've ever attended all my life! 30guests! Anita sure is very popular ^^


What made this weekend a wonderful one, was a visit from my buddy HELEN!!

We had FOOD ( as usual ^^ cannot live without ^^ ), and if you're wondering if we only had FALUDA ( the bottom pink stuff ) the whole weekend n nothing else, NO WAY! I decided to post only this photo coz its like the 'favourite of the weekend'.. and I'm too lazy to post the others.Too many.


Trust me its yummier than it looks ^^

Brought Helen to Trafford Centre, and we had a really nice time window shopping, and strolling around taking in the beautiful surroundings! I LOVE that place, its gorgeous. ^^

There was a Bridal fashion show going on when we were there, and we were very entertained!

I loved looking at those pretty girls in pretty white dresses ^^ Its almost fairytale-like. ^^

We went to Cloud 23 in Hilton too, to soak in the beautiful night scene of Manchester from 23 floors above, while sipping a glass of cocktail. ^^

The queue to enter this bar was ridiculously long, and i swear we waited for at least 45mins just to get in ^^.

But it was all worth it, although no photos could do the scenery any justice. ^^

It is always so nice to have the company of a friend whom you get along so well and comfortably with ^^ it makes little things so enjoyable, little treats so pleasing.

Thank you for coming, AhNgu!!

I had a brilliant weekend ^^

the BIG ONE!!!

Yup whenever we call out 'BIG ONE'!! in our house we are calling for Rach, the erm 'bigger' rach? Thats coz there's 2 Rachs under the same roof!

And you guessed right, the other rach, we call her 'SMALL ONE'. ^^

Tuesday night I went for my FIRST PUB CRAWL! And its called 'the BIG ONE' =) Hahaha what are the ODDS.
It feels so weird when people ask me, " Are you going for the BIG ONE, peilian?"

OK OK or mayb i'm just pure LAME hahaha, my mind processes lame jokes. >.< And I torment people with them sometimes. ^^ *evil grinn*

Its a university organised thingy, and our 'passes' to enter the pubs club etc on the 'list' that night was a custom-made t-shirt!


Haha so yup it was a night of bar hopping. It was quite an experience I have to say =) And I did enjoy myself, there were quite a few funny characters around!

Yup my whole house went, and this is US wearing the t-shirts ^^

Ok I need to get ready for an afternoon of nightmarish clinics =S I'm SO dreading it *sobs*

Sigh. Nothing is going very smoothly for me at the moment, patient dentures arent fitting very well, and its during this crap moments that I think to myself, WILL I EVER GET IT RIGHT?

Anyways. Every day is a learning process. I SHALL PERSEVERE. ^^

In church today I was thinking to myself the thought that had passed my mind so many times in my life.

"People disappoint all the time. To avoid yourself from being put down n crushed over n over again like a pestle in a mortar board, from being lifted into a balloon of hope only to realise you are tied down by a string which can be pulled down n burst easily with a loud pop, put your hope and trust in GOD.

Hope and trust that in your doing good, and forgiving every hurtful word and unkind eyes thrown upon you by your friends, in helping and trusting in people without hoping for anything in return, you will find eternal happiness and joy that comes from the goodness of your heart.

God rewards you in that way, He gives you patience and love, love enough to help you see past your own weaknesses and the weaknesses of other people.

And He made you to be 'legendary' in your own way."

It is easy to have this thoughts, but not as easy to live this life with it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Mei Lin!!!

My thoughts are with you on your special day although we're thousands of miles apart =) Here's hoping that you've had ( coz I think its past your birthday Malaysian time but still your birthday UK time ) a wonderful wonderful 24th birthday!!

I miss you loads. =(

May this year be a successful and joyful year one for you!! God bless =)

*hugs big hugss*

My prayers, Pei Lian. xxx

Its only day 3..

.. and I feel like dying.

OK I need to RANT ( bear with me) :
I NEED MY COFFEEEEEE. AND MY RICE, NOODLES, BREAD.
( Today's dinner : smoked mackerel, Chinese leafs and tomatoes )

I bought soy milk today ( bcoz I can't have cow's milk n I'm craving for it ) and yuck IT IS DISGUSTING.

Eating healthy is so difficult.

Its what you don't have or can't have that makes you want it even more. How true! I want coffee more than I ever wanted it in my entire life I might even dream of Starbucks coffee tonight. ^^
( and wala! Last night's dinner : Salmon, boiled brocolli, and butter beans )

No kidding. Had a massive headache the whole day today, and I feel so lethargic!! It must be the lack of carbs.

Nope, I'm definitely NOT cut out for DIETING. Don't know how those girls do it. =S

But I NEED TO STICK WITH IT! Don't want to back off when I'm already halfway through.
Although it is REALLY REALLY TEMPTING to reach out to that yummy chocolate bar or pack of crisps in the store, pay for it n gobble it down.

And the strange thing is, usually I don't really crave for such sinful delights. No really. Its only when I can't have them that I want them MOST!

OMG its official. I AM BORN A PIG.

2 more days.. COME ON PEILIAN, YOU CAN DO IT.

'Detox' DAY 1.

So Mingwei n I decided we shall 'live healthy' for one week.
That doesnt mean we havent been living/ eating healthy all these while though! We do try! ^^

Mingwei's doing a 'stricter' fruit veg only detox thingy, but I decided in 'my detox' I will have fish!

Strict NO NOs for this week of 'cleansing my body' ( HAHAHAHA why does that sound so weird ):

COFFEE. TEA. MILK. CHEESE. ANY DAIRY PRODUCTS. BREAD. CAKE. SWEETS. CHOCOLATE. CRISPS. RICE. CEREAL. SOY SAUCE. OYSTER SAUCE. ALL MEAT EXCEPT FISH. ( and anything deemed 'unhealthy' )

Ok I know this detox thingy of mine sounds abit rubbish. Or rather sounds more like I'm going on a diet, but hey this thingy mingwei found online does say its 'detox' OK! Hahaha I lost the link to it though. ^^

Today's breakfast was a banana, lunch was a banana n some nuts.

Dinner consists of brocolli, carrots, sweet corn and salmon. All boiled, and the salmon grilled. Seasoned with abit of mixed herbs and garlic.


To satisfy my sweet tooth, yup FRUITS yumm. Tiny mandarins and kiwi! =)

The most difficult part of this detox thingy would be.. NO COFFEE OR TEA FOR ME!! FOR ONE WEEK! I hope I survive. =S

I usually end my meal with a nice hot cup of coffee/tea, but today I was feeling abit lost. Stole a sachet of green tea from big Rach in the end!

Its really nice and fragrant, but I do miss my creamy sweet OLDTOWN coffeee. Already. And its only DAY 1.

=S

Eating healthy is FUN in its own way! Although I have to say I cannot do this forever I need my 'unhealthy' chocolates, biscuits, noodles etc etc.

OK. DAY 1 OVER. Wish me LUCK, i need to PERSEVERE!

Hmm to reward ourselves, STEAMBOAT maybe, this weekend?? ^^

Markus's departure will leave an impact in the hearts of those who know him forever.

'You can remember him and only that he is gone

Or you can cherish his memory and let it live on.'

Dearest Markus, you will be sorely missed. But we trust that you have found eternal happiness in heaven. =)

' You can cry, close your mind, be empty, turn your back,

Or you can do what he would want :

Smile, open your eyes, love and go on. ' (by David Harkins)

Your memory will live in our hearts forever, Markus. =) REST IN PEACE.

x x x

Today we celebrated LIFE. ^^

Ainul Jannah, Ida's beautiful little baby girl turns ONE!!

She is SOOOOO SUPER DUPER ADORABLE!! ^^ I wish I could fit into that dress she's wearing HAHAHA ^^ Her proud parents with Jannah n her pink 'Birthday Princess' cake =)


She was in the centre of attention the whole time ( naturally, birthday girl wad!! ) but I'm not so sure if she enjoyed it hence we get a 'quite-agitated-crying-baby' below ^^

And the lot of us HAPPY after a very satisfying meal of nasi lemak n fried beehoon. ^^

THANK YOU, Ida, for sharing your bundle of joy with us! =) May Jannah grow to be healthy, happy and beautiful always!!!

On another note I did something quite fun today ^^

Body Shop sent me an email a week ago saying their makeup artist, CHASE, is coming to the store nearby, in Trafford Centre to give free makeovers!

They managed to find one slot only =( ( thank you Mingwei for calling them ^^, I wish Rach n you could go too, would be so much more fun! =( )

I wasn't sure if i should go or not at first, but in the end I just went. I need to be less fickle-minded. >.<

CHASE told me he did makeup for Zhang Ziyi of Memoirs of a Geisha before!! OMG >.<>

The look I went for was 'natural' so really it was quite subtle, but I likeeey. ^^

Signing off with a 'syoksendiri' picture of myself, have a good week ahead peeps! ^^

In loving memory of Markus Ng (1985 - 2009)

If there is anything I learnt today, it is that life is too short. Too short, in fact, to be taken for granted.

People come and go, humans live and die.

I remember the first time I met Markus. It was on the bus carrying the lot of us to Perlis, for PROJEK KALSOM.

The bus picked me up from Juru, and by then it was already filled with many unfamiliar faces.
Trying not to feel awkward and frantically searching for an empty seat, a Chinese guy kindly smiled at me, pointing to a seat next to him.

"Here. My name's Markus. Nice to meet you, you are?"

And we hit off very well from then. He spoke to me all the way to Perlis, and I did think to myself, such a nice guy. ^^

Its not every day that you find someone whom you're able to have DMCs ( Deep Meaningful Conversations ) at least not early on in the friendship, but Marcus was one of those people.

He spoke to me passionately about his life, his interests, his worries. His insecurities, his fear, his ambitions. He spoke to me about so much.

He loves music, he loves God. He finds joy in making a difference in other people's life.

We were facilitating a group of kids together in KALSOM, and I still remember how the kids really adored him. "Abang Markus, abang Markus. Main lagu itu untuk kita! " ( and he tried his best to play their favourite songs on the guitar which he brought along with him whilst they sang along ).

I remember singing my favourite praises to God with him, when he was strumming his guitar on the way to Gua Kelam.


I remember this kid Atiqah who was having some problems during the camp. She was undergoing some sort of peer pressure, and her friends were alienating her. She came crying to me every day, and Markus was the only other person who knew.



With whatever sort of life experiences we had with our extra years in this world, together we tried to help her through it.


At the end of it all she was so grateful. She went to her Abang Markus secretly, asking him to translate the letter she'd written for me into Mandarin. And he did it for her so beautifully.


"Xie xie Pei Lian jie. Wo hui ji de ni. Wo zhu ni xing fu chen gong. Wo yi ding ji de ni de ern."

..the letter is not with me now, but this is a small of part of what I could remember..there was more.


("thank you Peilian. I will remember you. I wish you happiness and success. I will definitely remember what you did for me.")



If I am choked with grief right now, I would imagine that everyone that has been touched by the life of this kind-hearted boy would be too.


Life is really too short. Live every second as if it was your last.


As for Markus, I hope he rests in peace with the God he so loved.

the QUITE unusual weekend.

This fortune dangly-thingys with a cute coin in the red packet thingy at the bottom shall be hanging in my room from today onwards. ^^

I hope it will bring me the fortune it claims to bring to its owner!

Yes it is still CHINESE NEW YEAR!!

Its been a very eventful weekend.

Me very good buddy beetroot came to visit!! ^^
Watched footie with him at Varsity, and it was then i decided I shall become a Chelsea supporter.

Yes, although Chelsea sucked big time in this match against Liverpool. Arghh. And NO I DIDN'T DECIDE TO SUPPORT THEM OUT OF PITY.

I am still in DISBELIEF that Lampard ACTUALLY GOT SENT OFF. When its so OBVIOUS the most he deserved was a yellow card.

ARRRRRRRRRRRRGHH. GERAMMMMM.

I have a feeling I jinxed Chelsea by my decision to support them. NOOOOOOO! What future is left for the BLUES??? =S


Anyways. What made this weekend UNUSUAL?

Yes, Miss HELEN NGU came to visit!

And becoz I didnt EXPECT to see her in Manchester AT ALL, guess how I reacted.

OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG OMGOMGOMG.

YUPP. WHATS NEW. ^^

Thats what u get when you dont give me enough time for 'heart preparation'. For more 'visual help', go to Helen's blog.

I was SOOOO PLEASED!! ^^

Such a nice treat for what would have been an ordinary weekend. Bubble milk tea, movie, eggtart, jalan-jalan, abit of 'drama', abit of 'comfortable silence' ^^

And a FORTUNE COOKIE to predict my future!

HAHAHA I wonder who's the lucky friend I would help in that 'embarassing situation'???

Is it you??? ^^