pork ribs!

Went into town with the intention to check out the Primark store there and also post my cards. The Primark didn't even have tt cardigan tt I was eyeing..so I will just make do with this..so here's the cardigan...and the look with the dress.

Earlier today I was making these butterflies. I'm thinking of giving them to my nearby church ladies on Easter Sunday! These are a tradition in my SG church distributed at Easter..but they don't use the furry pipe cleaners la..haha! I think I'll stick some on my room window too..haha

 And here's my flowering basil plant!! Prob will ask L to help me water when I'm away next week...hah

Oh yes, PF and I have booked our day trips for 14th and 15th April! I super funny la..asked PF to pay for our tour on 14th cos I was trying to save up my pounds..then I paid for the 15th one..end up a but more than the 14th..haha! But it'll make the amt I owe her lesser la.

After city, I went to Selly Oak to get pork ribs from the korean supermart and thot can buy pad thai also. Managed to get them! Then popped to Aldi there but can't find almonds...so decided to go to Bearwood so that I don't have to go out tmr or thur. Planning to bake either on Fri or Sat...and I need to do my laundry before Sun too. Think I'll try the kaya when I'm back.

Got back my Ergo assignment. Didn't score as well as I expected..after all it's my thing..grrr..but I guess I left out certain parts of explanation...but with a word limit..howww! Anyway I scored 68..it's still above the mean (62.2) and highest 79. So I guess it's not THAT bad la..but I was hoping to be 70s or 80s. Nvm la...shall work much harder for my dissertation! N said he got below mean.

Cooked pork ribs today and homemade potato wedges. L ate too..minus the greens and vege. Offered but she said she's fine. Anyway, she also enjoys chewing on the pork ribs..haha! And she also told C he's missing out a lot..haha! It's definitely more fun to chew together than eat them alone..haha! Left with 2 ribs (started with 900+g..about 10 pieces only) and some wedges for tmr. I still have a portion of the fresh salad. So prob will cook again on Thur.

Shopping!!

I'm happy!! Managed to find what I wanted to buy and v affordable too! Went to West Bromwich in the afternoon (waited for rain to be a little lighter).

Decided to just check out New Look when I reached and I saw these! I liked the strappy design...and it's not too high (wedges) but too bad they are size 8/42!!! Too big for me! I love shopping for shoes/footwear here cos I can easily just find my size, unlike in SG! Hmph! So that should give me reasons to buy more shoes here hor? hhaha!

And I thought not much hope until this pair caught my eye! It was my size! Of course, I bought it!!! Yipee! Anyone wanna guess how much it costs? Note that it's real leather!! Cos the heels is slim, balancing was a bit difficult but just walk slower la!!

And so with heels bought, I was more or less done with shopping! Only had to get a cardigan and cards. Managed to get a simple black cardigan with metallic buttons (didn't take pic cos haven't removed the sticker and tags) from Primark..but I preferred another design and thicker material but left all big sizes. I'm thinking I'll pop by to the one in town to see if there's any more of my size of the one I prefer and if there are, then I'll exchange this one for that. Price diff is about £3.10. But I doubt the one in town will have more choices/stock since that's where most people buy from?

Bought this from home bargains cos it was on offer! Only 79p! Well, they are less sinful compared to potato chips (crisps as what they call here).

Oh! I managed to get a pack of coconut milk powder from Tesco too! Then after buying I realised I could have used the remaining coconut milk that I have in the freezer. Anyway, why I need coconut milk is cos my mum was telling me can try making kaya..she found a recipe online that is easy to make and she tried..my aunt n bro who tasted said it was nice. So I thought of trying it one of these days. Too bad I can't bring over for P even if it's successful cos I didn't buy check in baggage for my flight..unless I store only 100g...haha!

Only thing that I didn't manage to get was rack of pork ribs from Tesco..there were only 2 packs left and they didn't look v lean and meaty...so decided to cook with whatever I have in the freezer/fridge for dinner tonight. And I cooked chicken kiev with sides.

Oh yes, some flowers pic to share..while walking on my way to the bus stop...this one is from someone's garden..and the dandelion is wild on a patch of grass.

Funnily, today when I came home, C just came home too and started yakking about Poppy and L..and he apologised for disturbing on Fri night. He did say I should not be involved but I think he just wanted to vent. Anyway he said he's gg to London tmr to watch his son play football or something?! But I'll still be woken up by him cos he said he's waking up at the same time to catch bus and then train.

Tmr supposedly to be sunny day..so am thinking maybe will go into city to just check Primark then go ASDA or korean supermart to buy pork ribs. Yes, seems like I'm craving for pork..hahaha! Moreover tmr C prob won't be back for dinner so I can prepare pork for L and myself..hahahah!

Sunday roast!

Went to nearby church this morning. All the ladies were asking me how SG day was..haha..they said they thought of me last week..haha!

After church went to Bearwood to get some milk, carrots and cards. Didn't manage to find nice wedding card..prob go elsewhere to find tmr. Then bought some frozen berries cos L said she prefers to have some fruits with yoghurt as dessert instead of cheesecake or other stuff. Bought salad too..to go with the roast chicken.

PF and I more or less settled for 2 day tours for our Ireland trip. I think I'll make another trip to Northern Ireland where there's this Giants Causeway! Btw, PF and P commented I'm vvv organised. Haha..I said I just plan to make the best use of our time and $! Hehehe..great to know that there's direct bus to P's place from the airport...actually the tour company also offers free airport transfer to their HQ which is in the city as long as we book a tour or their hostel. This morning surfed their website and realised they give one free day tour to Glendalough for 2 nights stay at their hostel...and their hostel is vv near the lodge we booked (oh yes, book our lodge for 14-16th in the city so that we don't have to travel into the city early in the morning on 15th). But their hostel also not that cheap and is shared bathroom. So we're good..haha..hv full irish bfast too.

Did my laundry after I came home..think I'll do another one on Fri or Sat before I leave on Sun. Else will have loads of clothes to wash!

Here's a pic of my dinner..they call lunch..not sure why!! And interestingly, L seemed puzzled why I want salad with my "lunch"...she also has salad with steak or when she cooks dinner mah..dun understand but I just told her I wanted greens.

Watched "Hummingbird" on Netflix with C (L was walking ard busy doing this and that)..it's quite a nice action kind of show. Think it was released last year.

movie marathon

Didn't mention in yesterday's post. I spilled quite a bit of my precious chilli sauce on N's living room floor and my enviro-sac. Grrrr! Heng I managed to get rid of the smell and chilli on the bag. Heart pain cos chilli was store bought by my mum and brought over via R in Dec. But it was my fault cos I didn't shut it properly. I had actually kept it away then one of the Msian girls asked for it when she wanted to da bao. So I took it out and held it by its lid and it opened and spilled. Heng didn't break. Sigh...but I guess I can do without it till I go back unless I cook chicken rice again for others.

Oh..and I wanted to say I remembered when I wore my qipao last time, it was fitting..but yday when I wore, it seemed looser! Heheheh..that's good news cos it means I've lost weight..or maybe the material stretched? hahaha!

Anyway yday watched "A Date with Kpop stars" on catchup tv where Julie cooked kaya toast as a farewell snack for the koreans. Then I realised that can be an appetiser if I were to cook for the church congregation (in the whole circuit means with other small churches). Then mum showed me a blog this morning...seems easy to make..I may try one day.

Oh yes, PF and I will cook for P when we arrive..asked P what SG food she missed most and she said dumpling with vinegar (she meant gyoza or guo tie), xiao long bao (which btw is her fave) and Bak Kut Teh...so maybe will cook BKT when we are there. I enjoy cooking for people..hehe..and after tasting my friend's cheesecake yday, I realised my baking skills really not bad..hahaha! Oops..

Late last night till early this morning, both of them quarrelled and disturbed my sleep la..wah biang..but then now they seem ok. No wonder people say matters of the heart are complicated. Whatever they do, just be considerate la! 1+am leh..had only dozed off ard 11+pm cos they were noisy already then got woken up again. Then this morning L shared a bit with me. All I can say in my heart is, there's a Chinese saying 爱屋及乌 and C should learn that. L asked me abt my Ireland trip too..n I asked her about taxi again..then i explained that actually I dont need but cos the bus service doesn't start that early...then she din offer so I said I just wanted to know hw much taxi will cost cos I found a airport transfer by the airline n costs €13.50..then she said it's cheaper cos she thinks taxi will cost abt £20. So I booked it this morning. Will get e-ticket later on. Hopefully can show on hp or get someone to help print or something la.

Vacuumed my room (and living room) this morning..then looked online to get ideas of heels or shoes I should get for the wedding..then watched 47 Ronin and 恶战. 47 Ronin is quite good! Anyway, I'm procrastinating checking out and re-confirming accomm for the road trip with my parents..haha..prob do it tmr or next week. L said she's cooking roast chicken and roast potatoes tomorrow and said I can have some too..I offered to make stuffed mushrooms since I have too. Had intended to cook soy sauce chicken with potatoes and mushrooms but since I'll be having chicken tmr, decided to defrost my beef casserole with pasta in the freezer for dinner tonight. They're having steak tonight. Tonight's the finals for The Voice UK...so it'll be our usual Sat tv time.

Also called to chat with my ah ma...as usual she asked me to open eyes bright bright find guy la! Hahahaa! And then told me abt yi and uncle D asking her to join them in Shanghai. I also encouraged her lor..since she also nothing much to do at her home besides gg for temple activities. But if she goes over she may not be able to make friends that easily also..then not much social support. She sounded keen though she said not keen. Hahaa! Anyway, chatting with her quite fun sometimes cos I will tease her or tell her off when she dun listen lor. Know she sayangs me a lot too..hehe! I'm blessed with loving parents, grandmothers and maternal side's relatives!

More photos from yday's gathering..

Wonderful day!

I had a wonderful FULL day out today!

Left house to get stuff from Aldi and Heron food ard 9am before I headed to N's place. Managed to get what I wanted so I was done within like 20min! Fastest shopping ever..and it was lovely with the cool weather..nothing like walking at Prime supermart area back home in the mornings though. Anyway, took a while to find N's place but managed to find it cos the house no. was not v obvious and the front door looked like the back door..haha!

First time cooking a whole chicken here (even for N! It was his first time buying a whole chicken!). So anyway, ensured that the chicken was fully cooked (and I think I overcooked it to a certain extent cos the meat was too tender..haha!) and the small rice cooker is like the one yi bought for us to use when bro was not usually home. Turned out the rice wasn't as tasty enough! Oh yes, and my first time cutting up a whole chicken (N didn't know how to either)...I based it on a technique I saw when watching a cooking show...haha! See, so it's good to watch such programmes!! I was so proud of myself that I whatsapped to show off to my mum (and also to show my dad)!! All liked the chicken rice anyway!

Then I watched how A cooked Pad Thai...no wonder he says it's easy!! Cos he used instant one...I'm gg to buy to cook one day too! We had pad thai, pempek (indo fish cake that reminds me of lekor), my hainanese chicken rice, bandung soda, cheesecake, prawn skewers, snacks and juices!
 

Pempek

Pad thai

Cheesecake

All the food but without pic of bandung soda

the living room area...notice the amount of juice O bought!

us without the host

us in traditional clothes

While most of us cooked and prepared something, O, our nigerian classmate, bought like trolley load of stuff!!! I was AMAZED! Hahaha...and he bought without telling!! So we ended up with loads of juices, fruits and choc (finally I got to try Thorton's choc!). The girl on the extreme right of the photo is our UAE classmate, M's sister. Anyway, the Malaysian girls ta bao-ed chicken rice n fruits for their housemates. Told them to add some chicken stock seasoning for the rice cos too bland.

Had a wonderful time today and we only left close to 7pm! We officially started only ard 12.30pm cos most were late! The whole time was chatting, playing game and photo taking...and of course, the kid (N's son) to entertain us! This is what's called quality time!

I'm still waiting for more photos the others have in their cams cos most of them brought the huge cams!

We probably will only meet in June again cos everyone seems to be going away at different times! But maybe smaller group will be in May? We shall see!!

online shopping day!

Today is my online shopping day!!!

This morning, my mum told me about asos and I went to have a look and saw a clutch I like at first sight! And I bought it! It should reach me by next Thu. Quite cool that I can collect from a co-op store near me too..but I guess delivery is better la..just make sure I'm home la..

Then I went on to book my coach tickets for June from/to London!! Managed to get a deal..hehe..and I'll be exploring my OT friends' uni off the city for about a day! Quite looking forward to it! Hehe..spent v long deciding cos didn't know if to go for more ex tickets that is 30min faster but I'll have to travel to Digbeth (coach station here). Anyway ended up taking Megabus (which I took to Manchester tt time) for only £2.50 including booking fee! Woo hoo! And going there is 3h 5 min (2 stops), coming back 2h 45min (direct). So all is good!

Then it dawned upon me that I can try taking coach to airport too since they have a stop there..but checked..megabus doesn't allow drop off there (they just pick people from there) but national express does. Checked the timings for next Sun and it takes 50min from Bearwood stop right up to airport and the closest timing to my flight will reach at 7.20am. My flight is 8am and I've to be at boarding gate at least 30min before dep..and apparently non-EU/UK citizens need to get our passport stamped too. Asked my friends and all felt that was too risky. It costs only £3.90! Then checked for earlier ones..the bus before that is 4am!! Sigh..so I guess is back to square one..either cab or Ryanair's shared door to door service. I think I'll ask L how much cab will cost and I think I'll probably end up taking the door to door service since they ask for flight timings so they should ensure I get there on time.

Watched 《一路有你》..a malaysian production..quite nice..mixture of Hokkien, Canto, Eng and Mandarin..

Oh ya, our mini gathering changed to tomorrow instead! N bought a whole halal chicken for me..so I just bring other stuff..we'll be having prawn skewers as appetisers!! Yumss..looking forward to it!! Had planned to go shopping tomorrow but since we have the gathering then maybe either go on Sat..else next week.

Foggy today..or maybe is smog as what I read in ST..apparently it happens yearly. Macam like our haze situation..

Healthier potato gratin

Wanted to try to do online check in today then realised I can't check in for my return flight cos it's more than 15 days earlier. So maybe I'll wait till Fri then do it and hopefully can..else will just do one way and then ask PF to print for my return one. The ink of the printer at my hse still running low. Almost managed to hint to L that I need airport transport next Sun but only managed to ask her about taxi then she had to attend to a call. Anyway checked the airline (Ryanair) and saw that they offer shared airport transfer too and is door-to-door service and costs €13.50 so it's not too bad! So that can be my other option. Not sure how many hours before the flight they'll do the pick up but I don't mind cos it sounds cheaper than taxi. Got to ask L again how much taxi will cost..cos I think at least will need £20 and not tt worth for me cos I'm alone and not much luggage.

Anyway, spent today working on my assignment and I'm proud to say that I'm almost done. Just need to read through again tomorrow. So I'm certain that I can go shopping on Fri..I could also go out tmr afternoon but forecast is heavy rain in the afternoon...so should just stay home and watch movies or something. Bought the book online as a wedding gift..it should arrive next week. Then for my shopping, I think I need to get heels but then it'll be colder than here..so maybe will get covered shoes. Then an idea came across my mind! I could be thick skinned and ask L for advice and maybe she'll lend me a bag n heels..but so far her heels I've seen are all killer heels..hahaha! But bag at most I'll carry my sling bag. Saw some online that can arrive by next week though..Will probably look around on Fri and if don't have anything suitable then look online again. So as I was saying, PF reminded me that it's colder in Ireland..and so I checked and yes, it is indeed a few degrees colder there for max temp..hardly hit 15deg! But I'll probably still wear my sleeveless dress but with a jacket. If there're nice cardigans, I may get one since I can't find the one I have at my SG home also..haha!

Cooked some sort of a potato gratin but skipped the cream. It turned out yummy except that it's not a thick sauce. Added smoked ham, celery and mushrooms to it. I think I didn't mention but I bought some smoked ham the other day from Aldi and they taste and smell soooo good!! Perfect for pasta! It costs the same as my ham trimmings I usually buy for my sandwiches too!

Oh ya, L and C told me the TV downstairs now has Netflix and has LOADS of tv programmes. C even said probably has SG shows too (but I checked...don't have la!). Was excited when I saw "Lie To Me" but it was season 1 released in 2009...so it probably is the season I watched when I was in Adelaide. L has been watching "House of Cards" and C recommended "Dexter" to me. Both said they are really good. I shall watch it after I finish my assignment and bored with research..hehe!