R&R

This morning when I went downstairs to prepare breakfast, I thought it was snowing in the house!! See what Poppy did! Poor teddy!! Now she won't have teddy to play with!

Anyway did my toilet and room cleaning today. It's amazing how dusty it gets in my room though my windows are always closed!! Now I wonder if it's coming from the heater!

Called ma ma this morning and she v funny lor...ask me look out for good guys ard! Not easy leh..hah..or I should say not easy to find someone who can tahan me! Moreover, if I pass 30, it'll prob be harder..but shall see what God's plan is for me. So yi, mum and dad, don't be overly worried ok!

Anyway, didn't have plans to go out today but cos it was such a beautiful sunny day and I saw this online!

And so I went to the Barnes Hill superstore cos more things to see and likely will have more flavours. I've always wanted to take a pic of this scenery near the superstore cos it's a whole green field with cottage houses. Too bad when I took it, the sky was not that blue.

So sad that they didn't have the frozen salmon portions that I bought last time - probably no stock. So I ended up buying whole black peppercorns, yoghurt, cheese, frozen chicken breast fillets, honey, ice cream and I bought a top cos it was on half price offer! These tops keep warm but I find it hard to wash n dry though it says machine washable..but I haven't tried.

Made hot chocolate when I came home and added a few mint leaves. Yums..sinful..hahaha! I'll prob cook some drumsticks to go with my fried rice tonight. I think C&L are having steak with mash. If they cook at the same time then maybe I'll just keep my drumsticks for another day.

Anyway this is the pretty sky at sunset (4+pm). Took this pic from my attic window (yes, I opened it and snapped a pic).

Oh yes, R has reached London safely. She'll be here in 2 more weeks! How fast time flies!! And I'll be off to Scotland on 16th! Still can't decide if to wear my reebok shoes or boots there..and if to bring 1 or 2 jackets there - 1 for not-so-cold and another for the tour.

Tmr gg Uni chaplaincy. In pastor's email, after tmr's service, the next one will be a candlelight service on 22nd Dec..

Shall try to do some tutorial qns now before I prepare for dinner....

fried rice paradise

Last night L told me she got me something...and ta da!

Quite funny lor..I was trying to read the chinese words and later realised there were english words. Haha...I opened wanna laugh lor..but I didn't open in front of her! I wonder if it's bought or given actually...she said she got it from Manchester.

Today's weather forecast from 2 days ago was supposed to be showers but it was bright (except for a passing shower in the late morning) so it was good!!

This morning and afternoon was lecture and then tutorial and presentation. Ended ard 3pm...went to Seoul Plaza which has that Korea Food supermarket to buy sesame oil. Yes, after deliberating for so long, I finally decided to buy a small bottle (150ml) and it cost me £1.79! At least it's cheaper than in supermarkets. Was deciding if to get Amoy or Yeos...and Yeo's was more ex and made in SG! So I got Amoy instead. How different can sesame oil be right? Both are pure sesame oil anyway. I regretted not buying the 花椒 from the Chinese supermarket in town the other day when I saw...cos I watched the chinese cooking on food network and they taught how to cook chicken with 花椒..seems simple. Maybe next time.

Then went to Aldi...aiyoh..I really no idea what dinner to cook tonight so I was practically walking up and down, can't decide. In the end I bought a 1kg bag of frozen mixed vegetables, mushrooms, onions and tomatoes on offer at 49p and bought a 100g of dark chocolate. I'm planning to make my own hot chocolate this weekend, likely tomorrow. And I feel like telling L to save her orange/mandarin oranges' skins for me to make my citrus hot chocolate..heh..Intending to cook tom yum soup one of the days too but prawns are quite ex..well, actually I saw at Aldi for frozen tiger prawns with heads on was about £9.95/kg which is about the same as in SG. But I also didn't want to take up so much space in the freezer. Probably will cook tom yum soup with chicken and mushrooms.

Anyway I guess I'll have simple fried rice with my korean hot chilli paste..shall go vegetarian today..well, with garlic though. Think I've been having too much meat lately..hah. My mum will think how come I'll eat fried rice cos I'm not a fan of it. To think I have to cook the rice first somemore..cos in SG, we'll usually use leftover rice to fry.

Oh ya...end up A., N and I all not gg for the housewarming. They so last minute lor..before leaving cls then asked for our no.s...They should make it after our classes or exam even..but all of us were saying we're all v tired lor.

*Added: and so I cooked almost-vegetarian fried rice! Didn't know how to estimate the rice but I kept leftover for tmr. Offered to L but can tell she just found it alright..not her liking.

After dinner watched cooking programmes on food network and I asked L what I should make/bake/cook for Christmas..then she took out a few Christmas magazines to look for inspiration. Almost anything with seafood, lemon and alcohol, she will say this looks nice..hahahaha! But something caught my eye..lemon vodka cake...haha! The easy lemon tart looks v easy to make too. Oh well, shall see how. She said she usually cook that many dishes for Christmas (as shown in the magazine) and there was turkey, brussels sprouts, roast potatoes, red cabbage, roast parsnips etc. LOADS of food. Actually I also don't know who's coming for Christmas lunch...is it just 3 of us or what?! No idea. I asked cos I have to prepare and get the ingredients early cos I'll only be back on 21st evening..

Salmon dinner!

2nd day of full day lecture. Still have next Tue n Wed to go for the combined lectures. All of us preferred our own little classroom...I mean can really tell the diff between our cls and people from the other course! Anyway, seems that some students from the other course applied for the wrong course and ended up in that course cos tt one is more of risk assessments while ours link to the health effects.

Anyway, had group discussion at lunch time for our presentation tmr..had to "invite" all to sit tog to discuss but we were quite fast cos we had most parts...and since one of the v eloquent clsmates offered to present, we all agreed..haha! Everyone was a bit distracted cos the research proposal is due tmr at 5pm. I've done mine but not sure if it's too big a project to do! But then again cos I did some background reading and there's not much info available so added in to further evaluate the applicability of use in Singapore. So my title now is "The applicability of use of functional assessments in pre-employment screening or fitness to work assessments among healthcare staff in Singapore". Well, the research proposal is not graded but it'll determine if I will be a MSc student or not. And the final mark (worth 60 credits of whole programme out of 100 credits) will be based on the dissertation itself...and Dr Steve says it'll be also if our aims and objectives of the project have been met and if not, explain why not.

Just "Turned In" my assignment. Very funny that they use "turn in" right? I don't know if it's cos it's linked to the plagarism software they use called Turnitin.

Oh, this morning my bro sent a pic of my niece reading her birthday card I sent. Like real lor...but v cute...haha! She's like my brother...haha..maybe the future no. 2 will be like me!! Fyi, according to my mum, I tear books up! Heheehehe! See, it shows my interest in books since young till now!! Well, now I usually read self-help or inspirational or motivational kind of books..hahaha! Anyway postage here is really ex!! Sending a card back home can let me buy a bag of fruits and have change! But the cards here are v nice and VERY affordable!

L told me this morning that she's in Manchester office today and will be back ard 6pm. Too bad I hv lectures..else would've gone with her..hahaa! See if there's any chance in Jan!

Cooked salmon today for dinner! YUMS!!

Thought I should show the skin side up

Then think people usually snap the skin side down..haha!

YAY!!! TGIF tmr!!! Need a good rest. I think I'll likely skip the housewarming the 2 Msian girls are hosting on Sat. I wanna just do some housework and R&R at home. Need to do tutorial qns for next week too..cos Sun I should be gg to church and by right is the Uni Chaplaincy.

dunno what title to give!

Today and tmr is the full day lectures combined with the other students from the Science of Occ Health, Safety and Environment (SHE for short). The lectures were ok..lots of time on asbestos (substance tt has fireproof effects and is now banned in UK).

Bought fresh milk on my way home..haha..my mum must be v surprised cos I hardly drink fresh milk at home..hehe..since I came, I've been buying UHT milk also..to go with my muesli la..haha..then I was thinking fresh milk is 90p only for 2pints (about 1.1L), why not get fresh one instead?

Anyway cooked the grilled steak for dinner.

titleless

Nothing much to update today except that cls ended after 4.30pm and it was dark outside...so didn't quite dare to walk my usual route to Harborne so waited for the bus. Not a nice feeling to go home from Uni at night =( Even a local complained and said she prefers to go home when there's light! Today's cls was a lot of calculations too.

Bought muesli on my way home...today heating up my leftover green curry that I froze up. L cooked chilli con care last night and left it in crockpot but since she didn't offer me, I shall just settle my own dinner. Not sure what I will cook tmr. Tmr n Thur schedule says cls ends at 4.30pm.

Have been editing my dissertation proposal too...too bad my 2nd boss on overseas leave and other Occ Health Dr didn't reply my email. Shall wait and see..prob have to submit on Thu night unless I bring my laptop in on Fri and submit on campus.

I'm not sure how my shower water temp works...sometimes it's v warm and nice but sometimes it's just barely warm...grrr...can just shiver after shower before I wrap myself with my warm towel.

back in Uni

And today was the first day of uni again. Temp was about 3-4°C when I left the house and after uni...

Time seemed to pass quickly during today's cls..probably cos the tutor (who's the programme director/lead) gave v practical examples as he gave the lecture. Anyway this is the last module with an exam!! Was given a set of tutorial questions which were questions from past year exams and tutor said if we can go through them, we should be able to do the exam. Well, I hope so! The exam is on Friday the 13th...which is also the day R is coming to B'ham!

Was chatting with A. and N abt their travel plans. A. is gg France to meet up with his family on Christmas eve till before we start sch in mid Jan and N unsure yet cos he's awaiting for his family to get VISA and join him. Then realised SK (and those in London) will also be preparing for exams end Jan so doubt will be able to travel in Jan. Oh well, looks like I got to make my own travel plans! Anyway seems like the 2 Msian girls inviting some of us to their house for housewarming this Sat. Not sure if it's confirmed..also don't know what to bring/cook.

Shoulders and neck aching lately so bought this heat cream from Boots on my way back...seems quite effective now cos it's hot..hahaa..shall see if it's better tmr. I think is either my posture not right, my poor bag ergonomics or height of pillows not right or combination of all. At least I don't get referred pain.

Sunday

Today temp was better..4°C. Had my leftover apple pies for breakfast. Went to the nearby church today. Went to buy bread, tomatoes and mushrooms after service. Lucky me, I managed to catch the bus quite fast. Anyway, I had brownie that SK bought for me...it was sinful..hahaha! Did my washing though not many clothes but I didn't want to accumulate to next week.

Fudgepacker brownie SK bought from Konditor and Cook

Earlier just after service, got a call from Pastor Evenson frm the Lutheran church. Apparently he had student tickets to the Uni Choir performance tonight and asked if I was keen. I think he was trying to call me yesterday evening but I didn't hear the call when I was out. Anyway I turned him down. I don't really wanna go out at night unless I have to..and besides I have cls tmr leh..

Oh ya, forgot to mention that I bought a small nob of ginger yesterday from an Asian grocery shop yesterday. Think it's v ex..it was all price tagged. Sooo tempted to use theirs cos saw big ones in the fridge! Haha..just sliced some and added to honey water today.

Tonight I'll probably cook some chicken soup with apple and wong bok. Prob will add carrot and mushrooms too.

Tmr start of my 2-week module. Starting a little later at 9.30am and some days end at 5pm..wish they would start early and end early.

Day out!

It was -2°C at 8+am this morning and look at the ice capped cars!! Temp later rose to 1°C and more later in the day.

Iced leaves!

Took bus 10H and stopped nearer to New St station. Anyway, the station was very crowded and finally found SK..haha..then we went to find customers lockers in Bullring cos I read about it..and found it. Too bad the small lockers were all in use else it'll be only £2..medium is £3 and large is £4. Still cheaper than the luggage storage service in the station itself which goes according to time.

And so we went to Birmingham Cathedral then Jewellery Quarter and then Christmas markets and then Brindley Place (where there's a canal) and then Chinatown and back to Bullring. SK commented there are more red-brick buildings here..and she doesn't think there's such big shopping malls in London like Bullring here..hah! Some photos to share..more uploaded to Photobucket.

Birmingham Cathedral - personally like this pic with tree branches and pretty sky!

Birmingham Cathedral

Jewellery Quarter

Jewellery Quarter

Part of the Frankfurt Christmas market

1/2m long Bratwurst! £5!

Suckling pig sandwich also £5!

Guess what these are!!!

Close up of it...Guess what these are!!!

Lovely choc truffles £3.99 for 100g..not sure if it's ex?

 

Hedgehogs!!!

Love this pic I took of Big Brum!

Brindley Place

St Martin's Church at sunset

Christmas lights

Christmas lights at the market

My bulgogi dolsot bibimbap £7.60

At least now I know where to bring R to when she comes on the first day..hahaa! It was really vvv happening in the city! The market stalls are actually repeated at Vic Sq and nearer Bullring. Had nice hot chocolate at Brindley Place...and the korean was not bad too! Shall try other dishes next time when friends/family come over =)

Came home and my specs fogged up..haha..it was too warm in the hse. Anyway SK was so nice to buy brownies for me, C and L..cos tt time I bought brownies back saying tt C likes. Oh..looks like I'm having the apple pie all by myself cos C&L really not fans of it..so didn't eat. I had them for breakfast today.

bakin'

Submitted my Toxicology assignment this morning.

Was deciding if to head out today and I did in the end. Went to West Bromwich cos I wanted to buy the mixed nuts with Tesco and see leggings at Primark..and also get cards from M&S.

I wore my new boots for the first time today...felt comfy..only thing was my feet sweat a lot inside..haha..I'm happy with my buy! Prob wear them tmr too. I guess I'll wear them if no forecast of rain and the other pair if rainy!

Have been wanting to take a pic of this structure...guess what this is!

Anyway, I ended up getting cards from another shop cos M&S didn't have much choices. Not many clothes further reduced also. Realised that branch of M&S didn't have kids section. Then went Primark and got myself a maroon turtle neck top cos it was only £3! Too bad no more brighter colours..maybe can see the other branch in town tmr. Leggings also..don't have the colour I wanted. Anyway I have been wearing leggings with skirt and my boots and it's warm enough! Tried on jeggings but they felt like leggings too cos also made of cotton! So I thought I might as well get leggings la..bought 2 pairs of angora wool socks too..in case I decide to wear my reebok shoes or I can even wear them with my boots.

 Then went to Tesco cos I was thinking of having steak for dinner tonight. Wah..the steak was about £4 -£5/piece. Then I saw this and got it since it was £2.

Bought a bag of granny smiths since I was thinking of making apple pie (the bag had 8 and was £1). Headed home and started making my apple pie...pastry made with lard. The crust is really flaky and crisp! But then forgetful me forgot to add salt..hehe..anyway, the smell when baking also different! I think the pastry will go well with savoury pies. Mum and yiyi, u should try making pastry with lard instead of butter!! Btw, I didn't spread egg on the top..haha..guess what I spreaded it with! Hehe..learnt a "trick" from tv show.

And then cooked my dinner! When cooking then I realised that "grilled steak" I bought is actually made of minced beef la! They shaped until like steak lor..alamak..I think I was also blur. But then it's good also cos I only needed to use fork to eat!

Anyway L is back!! Oh..then C bought dinner from the chinese takeaway down the road...and L offered her chicken curry for me to try. OMG!!! I told her I think even u can cook better than tt. It tastes weird! Not any chinese style curry I know of. C had egg fried rice (with no visible egg) and chow mien. Maybe I'll cook chow mien one day..but to us, chow mien is just stir fry noodles lor!

Oh ya, I was packing my drawer and found the sewing kit I brought! I thought I remembered bringing one..haha..oh well..good to have spare. When you look for it, you can't find it but when you don't look for it, it appears!

Will be doing some sightseeing with SK whole of tmr...I'm quite excited! Hehe..

Happy 2nd month!

I'm a happy girl now!!! Today also marks my 2nd month here! I don't know why but it seemed longer than that.

Firstly in the morning, mum told me yiyi had asked her tw colleague (who asked her friend) to buy the herbal sweets from Taiwan cos I asked for it! Actually my dad had bought some from Guardian. So paiseh leh..hehe..thank u!!

Went out for a while in the afternoon and I managed to run my errands and I got my long boots!!!!! And I also got to taste the pork sandwiches from one of the butchers at Bearwood (which I usually see a queue for). As I was trying on the boots, an elderly woman asked how it felt..if it was comfy..then she also took a pair and said something like she suppose she can return them if they don't fit. So I guess she's buying for someone. So I carried the box ard the supermarket..bought rice n carrots. Hopped over to Iceland to get eggs (wanted to see if they were bigger than Aldi's since they're called LARGE eggs). Then headed home.

Presenting to u my long boots! Hiao hor? Hehe..anyway I decided to buy it cos it's on offer (£17.99) and to alternate with my other pair to make sure my calves are warm..and I'm vain la! Simple design but the sole is good with grips and has pretty warm inner lining and best of all, the "leather" is v soft.

Anyway, here's a pic of supposedly large eggs. Not sure if it's large enough but prob can't quite tell

I bought a block of lard cos I was watching Paul Hollywood's baking show and he used it to make shortcrust pastry..thought of trying.

And here's an update of my mint plant!

Tmr prob will wash my sheets else next 2 weeks will be quite busy to do so (esp to wait for machine to be empty). Tmr will be fri already and L will be back!! I don't have prepare dinner for Poppy and keep telling her to eat her dinner..hehe! And I'll be roaming the city with SK on Sat! And yes, the Frankfurt Christmas market is up at Victoria Sq since last weekend till 22 Dec! So will be checking it out on Sat and of course when R is here!

L called earlier and a vaguely heard her saying they asked her to work there?! Think that's what she said. Anyway she'll be back tmr night..will either see her tmr else maybe Sat evening. 

I'm planning to do some baking tmr..thinking either apple/pear pie or lard biscuits. I googled and read about lard biscuits..I think it's like those "biscuits" that is given at popeyes.

I'm now at 1548 words. Need to cut another 48 words. Hoping to finish by tonight then tomorrow can just submit.

*Added: I'm now at 1496 words! Shall leave it as that. C finally came home (cos L called me another time to check if he was back) and he asked if it was my key sticking at the door. OMGG!! How could I forget to take out the key?! Must have been distracted by Poppy lorr...grrrr..and worried she pounce on my eggs..haha..phew! Ppl will know is my key cos my keychain has my name..hah..Heng it wasn't taken away or no one entered..which goes to show that it's a fairly safe neighbourhood eh? Haha..oops! I must be ageing!

soup day

Today first time opened the hot water bag/cushion to use. Don't know why but I was feeling cold this morning. No doubt it was raining but temp was about 7°C so it shouldn't be that cold! Anyway I thought it snowed a bit this morning..looked like raining foam..couldn't capture a picture of it though cos it lasted probably less than a minute.

Spent today doing up my research proposal and also my assignment. I'm not sure if my proposal will be ready for submission by next Fri. And so coincidental that my 2nd boss gg hol..I wanted her to have a look before I submit..anyway she offered help if I needed also. And cos she's heading to Perth, shared some notes with her and reminisce my Perth trip with Elain...come to think of it, we were quite gungho to drive so far..haha..Hope to be able to go on such road trips again soon!!

Poppy was irritating today...I think she wants me to play with her but she scratched her paws on my feet or pounce up to my thigh to get my attention! Dislike it so scolded her. Kept barking to ask for treat when she didn't even finish her dinner. I ignored her at first then when she started pouncing up and scratching me, I had no choice but give in. Don't worry, she didn't scratch me leaving any marks or scars. Grrrr! I think I've no patience with pets! Esp not when I'm busy with work!

Cooked soup soba with mushrooms and wong bok and ikan bilis for lunch today. Smelled with home! Hehe..I forgot my carrots..else it won't look so brown. The soba was quite Q!

And for dinner, cooked 何首乌补血汤 from the packet my friend sent over. Added 4 pork ribs, 3 chicken thighs and 1 drumstick. It tastes more like black bean soup actually..haha! Not bad but 党参 taste not strong enough.

Notice how long the pork ribs are!

After discussing with A., I added more info on the toxicokinetics of substances and now sitting beyond the word limit. Have to cut it down later or tmr. Plan to go Aldi tmr (forecast is sunny!) to see if they have the long boots they advertise. The problem with Aldi is their stocks are very limited...don't think I wanna go Selly Oak one though. Not sure..shall see how. Need to do some grocery shopping again for carrots, eggs, rice. But I guess next week is fine too after Uni..just may be a bit sian la..