WEEKLY DIARY

It's been another long time since I updated my blog. I rarely turn on my computer nowadays. Lately I've doing things such as: read my long-forgotten novels, window shop, go to more dance classes, go to salsa clubs, go to cafes and read their old magazines, watch some dvds, work.

Anyway I can't believe that time goes so fast and it's almost Christmas soon! I always love the vibe of christmas. The peaceful happy christmas songs/music, festive decorations, christmas movies (home alone/love actually/sister act). Everything looks beautiful, the moods seems peaceful and everbody looks happy getting together with their family and friends. I'm a bit sad that my family is not here, but this year I'm planning on getting together with close friends to have a really beautiful dinner in a really amazing restaurant. (Last year I worked on Christmas to get a double pays :( sad )
I am definately going to make it happen this christmas :)
photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/sowrongitssara/4524290961/

"There are four things you cannot recover in life. The stone after it's thrown. The word after it's said. The occasion after it's missed. And the time after it's gone. So live life to the fullest and regret nothing."

- Anonymous


THINGS THAT I LOVE THIS WEEK :

picture from http://theuberblog.tumblr.com/
ISN'T THIS FUNNY? LOL

These quotes

"Tell me and I'll forget. Show me, and I may not remember. Involve me, and I'll understand."

-American Indian Proverb.

"Mistakes are a part of being human. Appreciate your mistakes for what they are : precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way. Unless it's a fatal mistake, which, at least others can learn from."

-Al Franken


SOMETHING THAT MAKE ME SAD THIS WEEK :


"A family photo that shows a little girl beside her father and his fellow soldiers in uniform as they prepare to go to war has resonated well beyond the tight knit Bennethum clan.
Four-year-old Paige Bennethum really, really didn’t want her daddy to go to Iraq.
So much so, that when Army Reservist Staff Sgt. Brett Bennethum lined up in formation at his deployment this July, she couldn’t let go.
No one had the heart to pull her away."


I LOVE THIS ARTICLE FROM OPRAH :

Jenny Peterson, who received a prosthetic implant in January 2010 to restore the sight that she lost in 1976 after a reaction to antibiotics.

"Simple everyday things bring me To tears. Watching butter being spread is fascinating. Cutting my meat without struggling gives me so much joy. I look at my husband and say, 'I did that myself.' I'm surrounded by so much beauty and color : my husband's blue eyes, the red pieces on the Candy Land Game that my grandson and I play, the way the light hits the colored glass windows at church, the stark branches against the blue winter sky. I've been watching movies of my children when they were in high school, playing volleyball, acting in plays. Imagining them doing those things wasn't the same. I was 23 when I lost my sight, and my children were 2 and 5. When I see my young grandchildren, it's as if I'm looking at my children again when they were little-picturing how the wind blew my daughter's hair across the side of her face. I can't wait to witness my granddaughter's first steps. And I love watching my grandson dance. When he used to visit and wanted to play outside, he always knew that Grandma stayed on the deck. But I recently told him, 'Grandma isn't going to stay on the deck anymore.' "

“Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough.”

-Emily Dickinson.

xx

THE PARADOX OF OUR TIME by Bob Moorehead

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgement, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.
We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbour. We conquered outer space but not inner space.

We've done larger things, but not better things. We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but Learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw-away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.

Remember to spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever. Remember to say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side. Remember to give a warm hug to the one next to you because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent. Remember to say "I Love you" to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you. Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again. Give time to Love, give time to speak, give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind. To all my friends in my life, thanks for being there!

Live with intention, walk to the edge. Listen hard, practice wellness, continue to learn. Laugh, play with abandon. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends.

There is a saying which I am sure you will recognize: "Do what you love, live as if this is all there is. Life's journey is the destination…so dance like no-one's watching, work like you don't need the money, and love like you've never been hurt before…"

WEEKLY DIARY

THINGS I LOVE THIS WEEK :

This article from Oprah :Richard O'Barry : The power of passion
" Richard O'Barry has a unique calling. "If there's a dolphin anywhere in the world that's in trouble," he says, "my phone rings." Through a combination of techniques that include undercover operations and negotiations with hunters, governments, and dolphin-exhibiting businesses, O'Barry has rescued dolphins in the Bahamas, Nicaragua, Brazil, and the United States, among other places, animals that have been abused in squalid aquariums, unfiltered tanks, and concrete pools that are the marine mammal equivalent of padded cells.

His passion to protect these animals from commercial dolphin shows and swim-with-a-dolphin resort programs (a healthy dolphin can sell for more than $200,000) began 40 years ago, after O'Barry, then head trainer at the Miami Seaquarium, was hired for the television show Flipper. As it happens, the title role was played by five bottlenose dolphins, one of whom ultimately swam into O'Barry's arms, looked up at him, and stopped breathing. It was such a deliberate act that he believed it to be suicide. Today, as a result of that experience, he's the ultimate dolphin freedom fighter.

The world got a moving look at his mission in last spring's Oscar-winning documentary, The Cove, which chronicles O'Barry's determination to end a secret dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan. In the movie, O'Barry faces off with local fishermen and fishery officials, who call their annual cull of up to 23,000 dolphins "pest control." Using hidden cameras, The Cove revealed the truth—that most are gaffed with metal spears and die slow, frantic deaths; a smaller number are herded into pens to be sold. "Once you see this movie, you're gonna think twice before you buy a ticket to a dolphin show," O'Barry says.

At 70, O'Barry remains tireless in his defense of one of the ocean's most intelligent creatures, roaming the Earth to help them. His ultimate hope is simple: "Basically, I would like to be put out of business. That's my goal." "

I love this picture :


I love this article about Kate Moss from Madison Magazine Dec 2010 edition :
" Mario Testino encountered Kate Moss backstage at a Galliano show when she was just 14 years old. She was sobbing, disappointed because she'd only been given one outfit to model. In Kate Moss by Mario Testino - the photographer's 10th and latest book - he recalls that he said to her, "In Life, there are perfumes and colognes. You need to use lots of cologne as the scent fades away; with a perfume you just use a drop and it lasts all night. You are a perfume, you will go on and on." He couldn't have been more right - in the two decades since, Moss has served as one of fashion's most reliably on-point ambassadors to the world, posing and vamping and skulking like no one else. "

also from Madison Mag :
Word of Wisdom from Diane Keaton, 64, actress,
"When I was younger I had these enormous vanities about what I expected from myself. I'm glad to have a comfortable and fascinating life, but now I see it for what it is, so I can be braver and more spontaneous and say to myself, 'Oh, screw it, just go out there and do it"

I love this quote :
"Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best" - Henry Van Dyk

I love this advice from Kristina Karlsson, Founder of Kikki.K :
"Start each morning in a refreshed working environment by spending around 5 minutes at the end of each day filing documents and tidying your workplace. You'll be more organized, and feel inspired to make your time more efficient."

4 THINGS I DO THIS WEEK :
- I've finished watching season 3 of So You Think You Can Dance Canada. It is amazing! I especially love any dance numbers that Dennis and Amanda do together. They are so passionate. I love them :)
- I've been drinking Nudie Coconut water. It is refreshing and not too sweet. It's perfect when I crave sugary drink!
- I've been listening to Ali Milner's music http://alimilner.bandcamp.com/ I especially love her songs 'I dare you' and 'I wanna be loved by you'. Gorgeous songs! They are my favourite songs at the moment.
xx

Quotes & Pictures from one of my favourite blogs http://theuberblog.tumblr.com

http://theuberblog.tumblr.com is a blog full of beautiful inspirational pictures & words. These are just a few of my favourites.
(Please read ONE BY ONE SLOWLY) they are all wonderful :)

HOW TO LIVE A LIFE from http://imanurse.tumblr.com

WEEKLY DIARY

I'm sorry it has been a while since I wrote a post. I’ll write more regularly from now on, as I feel that the more I write, the more I want to write whereas the less I write, the more I can’t be bothered. And also the reason I have a blog in the first place is to reflect on my daily/weekly life. So I’ll write a weekly dairy every week, no matter how busy I am. Afterall there is a reason it’s called a weekly diary :)

Things I love this week :
Oprah article '11 ways to find your calling'. It is about 11 people from all different career background talking about how they know about what they want to do with their life. I find it lovely and inspiring. These are the 4 (in bold font) that I most relate to (although all are lovely).

1. Peggy Whitson PhD
NASA's Most Experienced Astronaut (377 Days in Space)

On day three or four of my first orbit in space, I remember thinking, "I get to stay up here." It was this sensation of being in the right place. I knew then that I would be back. One hundred and eighty days later, it was still hard for me to leave.

I love the word 'of being in the right place'. I like to dance & perform, part of it is because of the sensation I feel when I am on stage. It feels like I am in the right place and it always feels amazing, even since I was a little kid performing in a school christmas concert. I'm sure the same thing apply with other jobs (vet= around animals, writer = laptop, chef= kitchen).

2. Judith Jamison
Dancer, Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

I live my life day by day with a lot of prayer and not necessarily immediate revelations, because I always think God takes his good time in lettin' you know what's doin'.

I love this because it reminds me that if you want to be something good, there is no such thing as a short cut. Something worth achieving needs tremendous hardwork and a lot of mistakes and problems to build up experience and maturity. It needs 'a good time' to get there.

3. Kathleen Sebelius
Former Governor of Kansas, Now Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services

I am a believer in the need to take a few risks. You don't get a new job unless you put yourself out there. I'm not suggesting jumping off the tops of buildings without parachutes, but having some willingness to say, I don't know everything about this, but, boy, I can learn it as well as anybody, and I can roll up my sleeves and work really hard. So I'm going to walk through that door, and if it's not open I might kick it a little bit and then walk through.

I like the word 'kick it a little bit'. Life is not easy and at the end of the day however wonderful our peers are, we still have to stand up for ourselves. And all those successful person are usually the ones who are not afraid of obstacles and show a lot of determination and guts and courage to ‘walk through’ them.

4. Masaharu Morimoto
Iron Chef (Food Network), Owner of Two Eponymous Restaurants in New York and Philadelphia

I had two dreams. One, I wanted to be a professional baseball player. The other was to be a chef. Every couple of months, right after my father got paid, we went out to dinner as a family. My father was relaxed, my mother pleased to be out. I admired the sushi chefs, who looked very cool in their starched white jackets behind the sushi bar. That was one of my happiest times as a child.

This one reminds me of my childhood dream. When I was a kid and (at that time) I wanted to be a ballerina, it was first because of the pink tutus. It was the whole appearance that I fell in love with: the pink tutus, ballerina buns, how the ballerinas have their head up and posture straight. I thought they look so elegant and pretty.

I love this picture from http://-sexappeal.tumblr.com


I also love this interview from Madison magazine Nov 2010 edition.

MY BALANCED LIFE by Charlotte Dodson :

Here Miranda Kerr and Rachael Finch’s yoga teacher explains how various therapeutic approaches, from the dietary to the creative, keep her body and mind in shape :

DAILY: Every morning I start my day with a glass of lemon juice and purified water. Lemons are alkaline-forming and aid in balancing out any acidity within the body, and water activates my internal maintenance systems. Along with this, I take a shot of E3Live, a wonderful aqua-botanical superfood that acts as a tonic for the mind and body.

WEEKLY: I strum my heart once a week during a guitar lesson. The rhythmic patterns and vibrational colours of music provide the quickest route to connecting with your inner soul- to finding that place of peace and pure joy. It gives me time to zone out and disconnect from my inner dialogue and enter into the world of melody and tone.

MONTHLY: With the amount of yoga I practice and teach, a remedial massage releases any stressors and built-up impurities I may be holding onto and maintains my body’s vitality on all levels. My masseuse nurtures my physical self from head to toe and puts my various alignments into perfect balance.

I love this Disney quotes from http://rachealxgreatestever.tumblr.com


I love MoS Burger.
I used to live in Singapore and there is this Mos Burger outlet which I love so much. This week I suddenly have this urge to eat them! MOS Burger is one of the largest hamburger chains in Japan. After returning to Japan from living in Los Angeles, Mr. Sakurada started his hamburger shop venture and set up the first MOS Burger shop in Tokyo in 1972. MOS stands for Mountain Ocean and Sun. Committed to producing food fine-tuned to the Japanese palate, Mr. Sakurada inspired his team to create innovative products that would stand the test of time. One of the finest creations was the Rice Burger, which proved a smash hit when it was launched in Japan in 1987. I love those rice burgers. They are so amazing!

Hot Yakiniku Rice Burger
Yakiniku Rice Burger
Ebi Rice Burger
Unagi Rice Burger
Teriyaki Chicken Burger

5 Things I do this this week :

- I have been saying good morning to the person standing next to me in the elevator.
- I saw 'Eat Pray Love' in the cinema. Bali is gorgeous and those italian foods! Oh My!
- I have finished watching the TV show 'Drop Dead Diva' season 1 &2. I love that show! Stacy is so adorable.
- I had a wonderful facial at Ella Bache. Not only my beautician has a flawless face, she is so lovely too.
- Last weekend there was this Australian Salsa Classic, which is the national competition for salsa. Watching the competition gave me a mixed feeling. I was somehow sad because it made me miss skating. In a way it made me miss my skating friends and those skating years, the competitions that I used to participate and friends’ competition that I used to watch and support. I always love watching skating competitions because I got to sit back and see people stressing out :) Lol I know but seriously after going through all those stress yourself (the day before, for example), it was nice to be in the audiences, just cheering and watching a show, not worrying too much. So yes, I miss my skating years :(

picture from http://allthosenames.tumblr.com

picture from http://-sexappeal.tumblr.com

FOOD DIARY (SEPTEMBER)

Breakfast at Baffi & Mo, Redfern
French Toast with Passionfruit, Lemon curd, Ricotta and Strawberries.
Peppermint Macaron with Flat White

Last month on the 7th is my birthday. I woke up around 7 am and walked to the Fishmarket to have a lobster & some prawns & oysters for breakfast :)


Cakes from Adriano Zumbo Pattisserie
Mont blanc Macaron, Raspberry & beetroot macaron,
SHABALICIOUS: Caramel crunch, caramel sponge, caramel cheesecake, caramel chew & caramel cream cheese mousse.

Passionfruit Tart, Lemon Tart.

(top) WHEELY WEMON: Lemon agar agar, Kalamansi creme legere, lemon dacquoise, lemon meringue batons, lemon puree & Kalamansi curd (Gluten Free).
(middle) I'LL GET BACK TO YOU BARRY: Chocolate yogo creme brulee, soft chocolate gel, chocolate cereal crunchy, chocolate sable breton, chocolate caramel mousse, chocolate plaquette.
(bottom) I don't remember this one. Chocolate with some sort of chilli in it. Not my fav.

2042 Cafe & Deli, Newtown
I love this place, it's a cafe & restaurant and deli in one roof, which they also serve wine & cocktails. The deli has wonderful selections of local & imported cheese, cured meats, antipastis, jams, olives, teas, freshly made cakes, tarts & biscottis.
The jamon iberico comes from free-range pigs that feed on acorns in the oak forests on the border of Spain and Portugal. The deli and restaurant opens until late most nights.
Schultz Smoked Wagyu Beef, Hot Spanish Salami, Prosiutto di Parma, Jamon Iberico (24 months).
At the bottom, is some beautiful jam for my (beautiful) bread :)

Ribs from Hurricane Grill's
Hmm, Big, lean, tender Pork Ribs. This famous tasty Hurricane's Pork ribs is basted in Hurricane's own special rib sauce originating from South Africa and grilled until tender, and served with baked potato with sour cream and chives.


Pizza from Pizza Mario, Surry Hills.
Pizza Margherita 'extra' (buffalo mozzarella, parmesan, fresh tomato, and basil).
Pizza Mario is my no1 favourite pizza restaurant/take away. Their pizzas are the traditinal ones and just the most delicious & amazing. I remember the first time I ate their pizza, I keep thinking about it for days until I had to go and buy another one. Their pizzas is thin and dough-y. They follow these 5 disciplines:
- after rising, the dough must be worked and shaped only with the hands.
- the oven must be only wood burning
- the pizza must be cooked on the oven surface and not in any pan or container
- the toppings must not be in conflict with the rules of gastronomy
- the pizza should be soft, well cooked, fragrant and have a high soft crust.
Pizza Mario is the only pizzeria in Australia given the seal of approval from the Verace Pizza Napoletana – the governing Italian body that makes sure pizzaioli (pizza makers) are doing the right thing by their clientele.

Swirlie's Frozen Yoghurt
I love frozen yoghurt, they are healthier than ice cream and taste just as good. This is the(Premium low-fat) Green Tea Frozen Yoghurt with Cranberries.

Gelato from Gelato Messina, Darlinghurst
(Left to right) : Figs poached in marsala, Italian nougat, Dulce de Leche, Pistachio, Coconut Pandan.
Gelato Messino has won numerous times as the most favourite gelato/ice cream retailer in Sydney. Their product is made fresh on the premises daily, offering a range of 40 flavours and selection of gelato cakes.
"When making gelato at Messina we ask ourselves one simple question, “How would they have made it 100 years ago?” The answer to this simple question is; use ingredients in their raw, most natural form. “Ready made ingredients” such as colourings, flavourings, preservatives and pastes are not used in our gelato at Messina. Because of that, we achieve full bodied texture and flavour in all our gelato. The dairy flavours have less fat content, and our sorbets are completely fat free, dairy free and full of fruit."