I just started cooking for the first time in our house last Thursday.   When we went to get groceries, hubby had the brilliant idea of getting those instant dish flavour packs by Maggi. It was really one of his finest ideas... They were on special at 99cents each... And they really helped to make cooking so much easier in the meantime while I get my kitchen sorted out (I don't have salt, pepper, soy sauce or even oyster sauce yet!)   Thursday's menu was this English chilli sausage dish... just throw in sausages, onions and chopped apples...   On Saturday, I was about to start on my next culinary attempt in my new kitchen... and just as I was about to pour the pasta into a pot of boiling water, hubby yelled out "STOP!!!"... so I did. Apparently a friend had just called and asked us to join them for dinner. Good thing he stopped me just in time. So I saved the dish for Sunday instead. It's an Italian mince meat dish with penne pasta. And we're having it fo...

I received a comment that implied that we have been living very nomadic lives up until now.   I guess it seems that way because we've moved across to a different country and then to a new city over a span of the last 5 years or so.   Most people settle in quite quickly, but I guess we took a different route of experiencing life in a different city first before settling down.   I think that I've learnt to appreciate the places close to my heart even more after seeing different places. Plus, I now have tiny heart strings tied to these other places which I've called "home" before.   I only realised how much of a nomadic-type impression we gave when we were having lunch with some friends in Sydney one time... we were just telling them the news that we were moving back to Perth... and then we started reminiscing about some of the good times we had in Burwood and Sydney and how we will miss our apartment in Burwood etc... and then one friend said " Well, I...

We've finally moved into our own place.   It's 3 bedroom house (somewhat villa-sized) and definitely much bigger than our apartment in Sydney.   We're putting it together from scratch step by step. We went shopping over the weekend for a bed, various kitchen items, bathroom items, laundry pegs and little knicks knacks like that...   We're still pretty much living out of suitcases and boxes, the unpacking business is being done slowly because both us are now working full time and we seem to always have something going on on evening or another.   So besides work, what else is keeping us occupied at the moment? Well, we have church on Sundays, Monday nights we've just started joining this marriage course with other couples in church, Tuesday night is movie night, cell group is every Wednesday, Thursday is late night shopping night (for groceries)... and for the next few Saturdays, we'll be spending Saturdays cleaning, unpacking and shopping for household i...

It's 5.40PM now on a Tuesday and I'm all alone in the office. Waiting for hubby to pick me up. He's passing through the city, so he said he could swing by to give me a lift home.... how nice...   So far everything seems pretty good.   Colleagues are nice. I'll be working closely with this guy who's traveled around a bit and can speak Indonesia and Thai. Quite interesting fellow actually. We joked and said the two of us and pass secret messages to each other in Malay/Indo without the others understanding us...   I think I will enjoy what I will be doing here.   Something that needs more brain juice for a change.   OK, better run now... will tell more soon... Be one of the first to try Windows Live Mail.

It's been a whirlwind week for me here in Perth. My last day of work at my old company was last Friday. I bought some pastries and cakes for my colleagues to enjoy during tea break. They were of course very happy to have free food and they all wished me well in my future endeavours. Hubby had already arrived a couple of days ago. We rented a car for a week to run around to do house-hunting and car-hunting. I don't really like car-hunting... very sakit hati to pay a hefty sum for a depreciating piece of metal... we are planning to get a used Mitsubishi Mirage to start with... can upgrade to a better car in the future... We went around looking at different Mitsubishi Mirages all over Perth. Spoke to different people... test drove them all... but somehow or rather there was always something not right. Either the price was too high, or the condition of the car was not quite up to standard. Felt so sian going around asking the same questions, and playing the same bargaining game, ...

Maaaaan... Yesterday was one of the most emotionally draining days of my life. I prepared myself mentally before approaching my boss. He didn't suspect a thing and even proposed we go out for coffee to "chat". Hmmm... don't know about that... but what to do? Our "chat" started out with usual niceties and small talk. And then, I proceeded to break the news as gently as possible. And his response was an astounded "YOU'RE RESIGNING???". So I realise that there's really no gentle way to tell your boss this kind of news. After the so called "chat", I could sense a shift in the atmosphere and the mood. A sort of tension... or maybe it was simply just me being sensitive and emotional... After that I immediately called a friend working nearby and asked her out for lunch. I just needed to get out for some fresh air to clear my head... The worst thing is that back at the office, the computer servers were down. So we couldn't access any ...

Tomorrow should be an "interesting" day for me. I shall have to try and break the news to my current manager that I will be leaving. I got an offer from another company, with better pay and hopefully a more fulfilling job. Although I'm still in my probation period. Which is supposed to be a time of assessment for both parties (i.e. the employer, as well as the employee). I still feel quite bad to have to do this. I am already starting to think of the repercussions on my manager's side... time time invested in training me so far... the reduction of his team size when I go... and more time that has to spent to look for my replacement... Waaaaahhhh... so terrible! Plus, the fella is going on his annual leave for 2 weeks starting next week... what a time to drop bad news on him! I can't imagine how some people can job hop from company to company every few months. I would find it so emtionally draining... Maybe I'm just thinking too much. I really, really hope I ca...

On Saturday's Hyatt Buffet Dinner, Audz and I arrived punctually and in style... BUT the other girls were laaaaaate... So we went over to the bar to enjoy some pre-dinner cocktails... COSMOPOLITANS ala Sex and the City style... Here's our bartender... And here we are... two very happy girls...

Well people... let's tackle the usual questions first... It's been an okay first week at work. Mostly induction and training... so nothing exciting happening yet. Colleagues are nice. My desk is right by the window, which is also nice... almost everyone clocks off at precisely 5.00pm. In fact they all start packing their things away at 4.45pm... so funny! It felt very strange leaving work so early... I remember back at my office in Singapore, I almost felt guilty if I ever had to leave before 7.00pm! Missing my hubby... but I'm coping... having a teeny weeny taste of single life... stopping by a cafe for a quick cappucino after work with a girlfriend... girls night out at Hyatt and Burswood Casino on a Saturday night... enjoying my first Cosmopolitan at the bar... Don't worry... I kept my wedding band on the whole time... so I (sadly) didn't enjoy any unwelcome (or even welcome) male attention... Tomorrow is Monday. I wonder what the day will bring. More importantl...

Phew! What a week it's been so far. Meeting old friends... Making new friends... a lot has changed in ZPH since the last time I was serving and worshipping here. Last night I joined them for their Mamak Nite ... sampled their satay, nasi lemak, roti canai, pulut hitam, ondeh-ondeh... yumz! It's amazing that even though I've been away for some time, and I barely even kept in touch with most of them... the moment I see them, it's ALMOST like good old times again. I say ALMOST because for many of them, things have changed like such as getting attached, getting married, getting babies... etc etc etc... I was just reflecting over this past week that hubby and I have been so so BLESSED to be surrounded by so many GOOD FRIENDS... not just in Perth, but also at all the other places that we call home... KK, Subang/KL, Singapore, and more recently even Sydney... We've only been in Sydney for a year, but I was so touched at all the little gestures and some gifts we received f...