This is an informative post to tell you what we've been up to and what we did over the Christmas hols. 23rd Dec: MH finished work early. Basically, almost everyone in the office went home right after a long leisure lunch which ended at 2.00PM. So he was home by 3.00PM. We decided to go down to Darling Harbour in the city for a walk and to enjoy the Christmas decorations and carol singing. It was lovely. The sound of the Christmas carols sounded so magical together with the beautiful scenery and ambience. We also walked around a shopping centre to hunt for the missing piece of MH's Transformers boxed set collection. We saw a myriad of last minute shoppers racing around everywhere. { I wonder why despite how early the Christmas sales season begins, there will ALWAYS be last minute shopping to do, and there will always be the last minute mad Christmas rush. Puzzling isn't it? } After dinner, we went out for supper with some of MH's ex-classmates to meet up with one ex-clas...

I realise that this is our first Christmas Eve as an independent family unit. So it was up to me to roll up my sleeves and cook up something worthy (or at least decent enough) for dinner. The spread looks simple, but I can assure you that it tasted fantastic. MH will back me up on this... sometimes simplicity is really the key. And you can't really go wrong with the classics. And I was bold enough to throw in my own twists. The basic: roast chicken, anointed with a touch of olive oil and butter. The twist: sweet stuffing of apricots seared in honey. The basic: mash potatoes. The twist: lots of cheese and a touch of sour cream. The basic: tomato and cucumber salad tossed in olive oil and vinegar. The twist: actually there's no twist, salads taste best when they are simple and uncomplicated. Although I miss the usual Christmas feast with the rest of the family back in KK... but we made our own as memorable as possible anyway. Merry Christmas to all!

Last night we went Christmas shopping. Westfield shopping centre in Burwood was packed with shoppers with late night shopping extended to midnight. So exciting! We walked around Myer and looked at all the pretty and shiny new things. I was itching to buy a nice new solid good-sized cooking pot (Oh man, I really am turning into a Stepford wife!). In the end I settled for a little stopper so I can keep olive oil in old wine bottles and drizzle them over salads like a professional. Cost $2.60 after 25% discount. My beloved hubby on the other hand was more extravagant. He spotted the DVD boxed set of the transformers animated series and went absolutely ga-ga over them. He spent a loooong time poring over the sets, contemplating the "to buy, or not to buy" question. Then we went all over the entire Westfield shopping centre to see if there were better deals in other shops. There were none. So it was back to Myer once again. He couldn't decide which one to buy, so he bought bot...

To keep up with dad's recent posting of the Christmas tree they put up back home in KK, I thought I'd show our own Christmas tree here in our little home in Sydney. We picked up the tree for a bargain at $5 at a garage sale. The silver tinsel and decorations cost $9 from Ikea. MH insisted on having proper Christmas lights for around $10 also from Ikea. The only drawback is that the lights do not twinkle, but that's alright. We've spent a few quiet evenings sitting quietly on our couch looking at our pretty Christmas tree. It's very therapeutic. On another topic, despite the Christmas season,the current issues in Australia is minority groups protesting Christmas celebrations. And they are not even Muslims or Jews. Just ordinary " free-thinkers " who strongly believe that Christmas carols and Christmas greetings should strictly be limited to churches or religious settings. They were deeply offended that a local school sent their family a Christmas card to wi...

Our first Christmas present in Sydney. MH's old classmate gave it to us during the dinner party we held at our place. This is exactly what I've been itching to buy for the past few months. I first saw this at MH's friend's house where we stayed when we first arrived. I was so amazed at this gadget... they way it steamed things so perfectly in such a short time. The friend was also very enthusiastic about showing me all the features and raved about how easy it was to use and maintain. I was determined to get one for myself too. So we went to Myers to look at it. The price was fairly reasonable, but MH suggested we wait for a sale and get it at a discount. We didn't need it urgently anyway. So I agreed. Then lo and behold, the same friendwent out to get one for us because she saw how much I liked it. I'm so amazed how nice people can be. I was like a little girl all over again, opening up the box and admiring how beautiful it looked. It's now sitting prettily ...

Aren't these cute? This batch is part of my Christmas baking projects. I made this from a basic shortbread recipe. I could just look at them all day... cute lil' buggers...

I am presently sitting in front of the TV with MH's laptop on my lap. Life is very comfortable here. But I must take care never to forget that I am a SABAHAN!!! Growing up in Sabah is GREAT... I had a fun, memorable and happy childhood... but life was not always a bed of roses, and I've had my share of gruelling and life-toughening experiences. What are the two basic modern amenities every household should have? Water and Electricity. Agree? Good. So imagine if these were taken away from you. Sometimes only for a couple of hours. How about a couple of days... even longer at times. This situation equals the basic OBS experience. Heck, I heard even OBS always provide these anyway... Here is my survival guide for such situations: Water Cuts It never fails to happen in Sabah once every few months... sometimes every few weeks even. Dad said it happenes because one of the major water pipes had burst (again). And it seems happens more often during the rainy season. Ironic, eh? I could...

I went for a job interview yesterday (Thursday). The company was actually one of the competitors of my previous company. It didn't turn out as exciting as I'd thought it would be (hey, there's a possbility that thewere calling me to spy on my previous company, right?). When I got the call requesting me to come in for an interview, the secretary told me the name of my interviewer, and I realised that it was an ex-colleague from my previous company who was in Australia on a business trip. How queer is that? As she walked up to me at the reception, she was still the same sweet, smiley little thing as always. After the interview, I felt torn. It might be a good opportunity to try working for another company to widen my exposure. But I had a naggy little feeling of doubt that this was really the job for me. Somehow, I still enjoy the type of exposure I might get working for my previous company. But is it really worth banking everything on just that? What to do, oh what to do?

I made scones today. Soft, warm and buttery little mounds. See how yummy they look! You can find the recipe here: Scones Unfortunately, my ulcer prevented me from enjoying the full bliss of savouring the scones.