While at Sunway University last weekend, we were shown a short video clip of a talk show hosted by some familiar fellows whom I can't remember their names...they were testing each other on slangs:
1. flossing...means showing off
2. chin wag ... to talk/chat
3. ba-donka-donk .... extremely curvaceous female behind
4. chuffed to bits .... really pleased
5. shawty ... a young kid or woman
Not that I need to know these slangs but they are quite interesting. When things are not noted down, I tend to forget.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
origami craze
Since young, Lyn has the knack for folding origamis. We bought a few books for her to look at. She never took it seriously; just fold a few here n there and after that lose interest.
When FIL fell really sick; she folded cranes and filled a jar with them and put it beside him.
Recently the origami craze has returned. She has found a group of friends in her class who enjoy folding them too. They exchange ideas and go on You Tube to look for new ideas. She has a real impressive book which comes with colourful origami paper which Matthew gave her. Her friends were much motivated by the book.
During the Canteen Day/Coop Day; some of the girls in her class folded origami to sell; at about RM1 each I think. I was doubtful about its sale but to my surprise she came home all bubbly and happy because the origami was really popular. She and her friends plan to fold origami a week ahead of the Canteen Day next year instead of the night before the sale.
Here are a few samples of the origami she had folded; there are more but I don't know where they are:
When FIL fell really sick; she folded cranes and filled a jar with them and put it beside him.
Recently the origami craze has returned. She has found a group of friends in her class who enjoy folding them too. They exchange ideas and go on You Tube to look for new ideas. She has a real impressive book which comes with colourful origami paper which Matthew gave her. Her friends were much motivated by the book.
During the Canteen Day/Coop Day; some of the girls in her class folded origami to sell; at about RM1 each I think. I was doubtful about its sale but to my surprise she came home all bubbly and happy because the origami was really popular. She and her friends plan to fold origami a week ahead of the Canteen Day next year instead of the night before the sale.
Here are a few samples of the origami she had folded; there are more but I don't know where they are:
What do you do with origamis? I find no use for them. She has a box which she just drops them in. She finds folding them addictive; like reading a good book (so she says). She's asking for more paper now.....
the black chismas
On Father's Day, Dan gave the father a pirate ship named the Black Chismas. I guess this is the influence of Pirates of the Carribbean. Why the Black Chismas? The father said, on Chismas day, the ship goes around stealing all the presents.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Virgin Earth
This is another one of Phillipa Gregory's long winded historical fiction. She is long winded but interesting. I don't seem to be able to put her book down once I start on it.
This book is slightly different from the others which I've read. The focus is not so much on the royalty but the person who served the royalty.
In this case, the main character is John Tradescant (the younger) who was the royal gardener. I checked the facts about him and again PG is almost accurate except for the fictional parts.
He was married three times. First two wives are real but the third wife who is a Red Indian is fictional. No facts about her at all. The tale here is pretty tall but kind of interesting. I enjoyed this part of the story maybe because it's fictional.
The story takes place during the Civil War; Charles 1's reign. Such a difficult time for the commoners. Maybe that's why PG choose to write from a commoner's point of view; to show the struggles they go through when the 'rulers' war against each other.
The story takes place in England and also Virginia, America. I was tranported into the days of Pocahontas and the pioneers....life definitely wasn't a bed of roses then. The life of a pioneer as described by PG was pretty overwhelming.
One character that is most admirable would be Hester Pooks; his second wife. Not sure if she was of such in real life but she is almost like a heroine in this story. A most interesting fact is his daughter; Frances, married Alexander Norman (a family friend) at the age of 17 when he was 55 or so.
John Tradescant the younger....took over his father's role as the royal gardener. His son was also called John who died pretty young.
This book is slightly different from the others which I've read. The focus is not so much on the royalty but the person who served the royalty.
In this case, the main character is John Tradescant (the younger) who was the royal gardener. I checked the facts about him and again PG is almost accurate except for the fictional parts.
He was married three times. First two wives are real but the third wife who is a Red Indian is fictional. No facts about her at all. The tale here is pretty tall but kind of interesting. I enjoyed this part of the story maybe because it's fictional.
The story takes place during the Civil War; Charles 1's reign. Such a difficult time for the commoners. Maybe that's why PG choose to write from a commoner's point of view; to show the struggles they go through when the 'rulers' war against each other.
The story takes place in England and also Virginia, America. I was tranported into the days of Pocahontas and the pioneers....life definitely wasn't a bed of roses then. The life of a pioneer as described by PG was pretty overwhelming.
One character that is most admirable would be Hester Pooks; his second wife. Not sure if she was of such in real life but she is almost like a heroine in this story. A most interesting fact is his daughter; Frances, married Alexander Norman (a family friend) at the age of 17 when he was 55 or so.
John Tradescant the younger....took over his father's role as the royal gardener. His son was also called John who died pretty young.
Charles 1....reigned without Parliament for 10 years and brought about the civil war.....royalty vs parliament.
Oliver Cromwell....the man who turned England into a Republic!!
A good book to read....but need endurance.
Friday, June 17, 2011
6th June 2011
We made a trip to KL that day with a few goals:
a. go Low Yatt Plaza to check out accessories for the iPad
b. then to Sg Wang Plaza to look for a bag for Lyn
c. Midvalley....for the usual book hunt
d. a nice place to eat and celebrate Dan's birthday which was the next day.
Well, we achieved every one of that goal and more!
At Sungai Wang, Lyn managed to find a present for Dan. The yellow angry bird!!
Yellow angry bird wearing the cowboy hat.
Then we dropped by tBowl Concept Restaurant for lunch. I thought it was quite interesting; something different from the usual. We sat on toilet bowls and the food were served as you can see in the pictures:
Some sort of tea....
desserts; the round shaped stuff are not rambutans as I thought.
Then we dropped by Midvalley and discovered a ship there!
Dan says it's not the real Blackbeard ship because there is no Queen Anne's Revenge written on it.
a. go Low Yatt Plaza to check out accessories for the iPad
b. then to Sg Wang Plaza to look for a bag for Lyn
c. Midvalley....for the usual book hunt
d. a nice place to eat and celebrate Dan's birthday which was the next day.
Well, we achieved every one of that goal and more!
At Sungai Wang, Lyn managed to find a present for Dan. The yellow angry bird!!
Yellow angry bird wearing the cowboy hat.
Then we dropped by tBowl Concept Restaurant for lunch. I thought it was quite interesting; something different from the usual. We sat on toilet bowls and the food were served as you can see in the pictures:
Some sort of tea....
Herbal soup...nice
shark fin soup and rice...starchy and hardly any shark fin
desserts; the round shaped stuff are not rambutans as I thought.
I was happy with the food but Dan thinks I can cook better!
Then we dropped by Midvalley and discovered a ship there!
Dan says it's not the real Blackbeard ship because there is no Queen Anne's Revenge written on it.
It was quite a successful day with lots of new books but it ended early because I was a little under the weather.
Monday, June 13, 2011
a little surprise..
After class today I saw a plastic bag on my table with Buckingham Palace written on it. Who could have put it on my table? Then I saw a note saying, Happy Belated Teacher's Day, Vivian Lee.
What a surprise and such a lovely one. When I opened up the bag and saw the gift....it was even lovelier. Not sure if she went to London for holiday(yet to see her) but she definitely remembered me and History wherever she was. The mysterious looking bag:
What a surprise and such a lovely one. When I opened up the bag and saw the gift....it was even lovelier. Not sure if she went to London for holiday(yet to see her) but she definitely remembered me and History wherever she was. The mysterious looking bag:
The book she got for me...
Every time when I teach Form 4 History; Chapter 9; I will definitely stop to tell the students stories from the English monarchy especially HenryVIII. I am so much into the story telling, maybe I might have added ajinomoto and tomato sauce to make it more interesting and thus the students remember the stories better than the facts from the text book itself.
Enjoyed this book; nothing new as I've read most of the stuff many times especially with Phillipa Gregory's books...I think I'm quite familiar with the English monarch. What intrigues me the most is the present order of succession to the crown. Do you know that Princess Beatrice and Eugenia of York are the 5th and 6th in line!!! Imagine if one of them becomes the Queen of England one day....what atrocious hat will she wear?????
Kilmeny of the Orchard
...by LM Montgomery. This is one of her lesser known books. When we first read this book; we thought it was a little sugary sweet. Now as I reread it again....ya; bit sugary.
It's about Kilmeny who is dumb and never exposed to society and her encounter with love. Montgomery portrays good as simply too good to be true and bad as real bad.
But I like reading her brand of romances because it is clean decent romance in a very pure and old-fashioned way unlike the modern romances which just burns and sizzles all the way with little depth on morality and values.
I like how she upholds integrity in all the stories she tells and thus her characters are built to be strong in their values.
Unlike some of her short stories, this one has a happy ending but Kilmeny's parents' love was rather tragic.
Easy to read, old-fashioned sort of romance!!!
It's about Kilmeny who is dumb and never exposed to society and her encounter with love. Montgomery portrays good as simply too good to be true and bad as real bad.
But I like reading her brand of romances because it is clean decent romance in a very pure and old-fashioned way unlike the modern romances which just burns and sizzles all the way with little depth on morality and values.
I like how she upholds integrity in all the stories she tells and thus her characters are built to be strong in their values.
Unlike some of her short stories, this one has a happy ending but Kilmeny's parents' love was rather tragic.
Easy to read, old-fashioned sort of romance!!!
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Lucy Maud Montgomery
I am rereading Kilmeny of the Orchard by Lucy Maud Montogomery. I was crazy about her books when I was in varsity and the craze carried on into my early days of marriage plus motherhood. I guess it's because both KC and I were so enthralled by her style of writing, wit and ability to bring PEI close and real to our imagination.
LM Montgomery; if you don't know who she is; wrote Anne of Green Gables. That was the first book I read and since then I hunted all her books possible all the way to Vancouver. I think I have almost all of her books. Last night, I downloaded quite a few of her books from Stanza. Infact Stanza has the complete set of the Anne books.
We were so much into Anne books that we almost named Lyn 'Anne' but decided Anne with an 'e' was just too short for her. When I was carrying her, I was reading lots and lots of Montgomery's books. And...Lyn is a little like Anne actually. Since young she has the knack of using bombastic words that she picks up. When she is in the mood she will talk non-stop; that I just shut off because I can't follow her train of thoughts anymore. She strings her words all in a sentence without a fullstop or comma and jumps to another topic without warning....
So it was our dream those days that we must visit Prince Edward Island (PEI). When we visited Vancouver, we realised how foolish that dream was....PEI is in the opposite end of Canada. Just the other day, Lyn asked if I have a bucket list. I thought I would like to tour Europe one day. Today as I reread Kilmeny, I remembered my earlier dream to visit PEI. Now.....I think I should try to make this come true......
But for now, I will let Montgomery take me to PEI in my imaginations...Far below the fields a calm ocean slept bluely, and sighed in its sleep, with the murmur that rings for ever in the ear of those whose good fortune it is to have been born within the sound of it.
Yes...i can see that blue sea sleeping calmly in my mind and the soft waves lapping away as if it is just behind my house!!!!!!!!
LM Montgomery; if you don't know who she is; wrote Anne of Green Gables. That was the first book I read and since then I hunted all her books possible all the way to Vancouver. I think I have almost all of her books. Last night, I downloaded quite a few of her books from Stanza. Infact Stanza has the complete set of the Anne books.
We were so much into Anne books that we almost named Lyn 'Anne' but decided Anne with an 'e' was just too short for her. When I was carrying her, I was reading lots and lots of Montgomery's books. And...Lyn is a little like Anne actually. Since young she has the knack of using bombastic words that she picks up. When she is in the mood she will talk non-stop; that I just shut off because I can't follow her train of thoughts anymore. She strings her words all in a sentence without a fullstop or comma and jumps to another topic without warning....
So it was our dream those days that we must visit Prince Edward Island (PEI). When we visited Vancouver, we realised how foolish that dream was....PEI is in the opposite end of Canada. Just the other day, Lyn asked if I have a bucket list. I thought I would like to tour Europe one day. Today as I reread Kilmeny, I remembered my earlier dream to visit PEI. Now.....I think I should try to make this come true......
But for now, I will let Montgomery take me to PEI in my imaginations...Far below the fields a calm ocean slept bluely, and sighed in its sleep, with the murmur that rings for ever in the ear of those whose good fortune it is to have been born within the sound of it.
Yes...i can see that blue sea sleeping calmly in my mind and the soft waves lapping away as if it is just behind my house!!!!!!!!
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Kung Fu Panda 2
Two movies in a week....
This is the second movie we watched. The kids sat behind us. This time I was smarter. Went and picked up the tickets first instead of going there half an hour earlier only to find there are no good seats left. MBO doesn't allow booking in advance.
Throughout the movie I could hear laughter and giggles and comments from behind me. Such noisy kids. They definitely enjoyed this more than the Pirates of the Caribbean. I enjoyed it too. I think it's because it's quite brainless. It's nice to watch a movie that does not require much thinking and doesn't set the adrenaline rushing.....just relax and laugh at all the silly things that happen.
As usual, after the movie, Dan will go over it; mulling over the scenes and repeating them over and over. He asked everyone the same question: Which part do you enjoy the most? I think I enjoyed all the impossibly incredible fighting scenes that can only happen in an animation. It's so silly. I also enjoy the part when Po was young....he is so cute and cuddly and adorable.
Now I am done with these type of movies, I look forward to heavy stuff like LOTR. I wonder when such movies will come along again. In US they are rescreening LOTR. Maybe to prepare audience for Hobbits. This time I must make sure I go for the Hobbits by hook or by crook......I missed LOTR in the movies and never stop regretting it.
iPad 2
The screen is sooo much bigger and nicer to touch. The words and pictures come out soooo big and easier to see (now that my eyes are going bad). There is so much to see on one page; don't have to keep flicking over!!!!
The iPad is a real cool gadget. It's slim and slick looking. Not too heavy or bulky. Easy to hold. Typing on it is brisk.....as the danger of pressing the wrong key is lesser as the keyboard is way much bigger, wider......No wonder every other person wants to own an iPad. We were at the beach just last weekend and saw at least two fellows walking around holding an iPad. Show offs!!! But this gadget definitely is quite an experience.
My iPhone next to the iPad. See the difference in size.
The iPad........unfortunately it's not mine. KC came home last night and when Lyn opened up his bag to get the newspaper she screamed in excitement. An iPad in her dad's bag!!!!! Well, I have to wait in the queue for my turn to play with it.
The iPad is a real cool gadget. It's slim and slick looking. Not too heavy or bulky. Easy to hold. Typing on it is brisk.....as the danger of pressing the wrong key is lesser as the keyboard is way much bigger, wider......No wonder every other person wants to own an iPad. We were at the beach just last weekend and saw at least two fellows walking around holding an iPad. Show offs!!! But this gadget definitely is quite an experience.
My iPhone next to the iPad. See the difference in size.
The iPad........unfortunately it's not mine. KC came home last night and when Lyn opened up his bag to get the newspaper she screamed in excitement. An iPad in her dad's bag!!!!! Well, I have to wait in the queue for my turn to play with it.
Chilled cheese cake
It's a week of cheese...I made this cheese cake twice this week. Once for Ing, Lyn and Dan's birthday celebration and another round for Lyn's friends who came to visit on Wednesday. No wonder can feel my tummy going bigger. On top of it; Lyn baked scallop potatoes with cheese twice this week too. First she used cheddar cheese; then yesterday she used parmesan cheese (so much nicer!!!) I have to stay away from cheese for a while before I turn cute.
Each evening I walk/jog for 30minutes plus and I burn only 200cal. The amount of calory intake is way beyond that. How frustrating.. ok enough complaints....the recipe!!!
250g McVites Digestive biscuits
5oz melted butter
1 block Philadelphia cheese (250g)
1 can evaporated milk
1 lime
3/4 cup castor sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
2tbsp gelatine
a. Crush digestive biscuits till fine. Melt butter and add to the biscuits. Pour mixture into pie dish and press till firm; about 1/2 inch thick. Put the biscuits into freezer to set.
b. Blend cream cheese and sugar till smooth.
c. Add milk, lime juice and vanilly. Beat till white and frothy.
d. Melt gelatine in 1/2 cup hot water. Add into the creamed mixture to blend for a while.
e. Pour mixture onto the biscuits and put back into the freezer to set for an hour.
f. Remove and place it in the fridge after an hour.
#For variety, can add chocolate/coffee into the mixture. For decoration, can arrange fruit cocktail on top or just sprinkle chocolate rice.
Each evening I walk/jog for 30minutes plus and I burn only 200cal. The amount of calory intake is way beyond that. How frustrating.. ok enough complaints....the recipe!!!
250g McVites Digestive biscuits
5oz melted butter
1 block Philadelphia cheese (250g)
1 can evaporated milk
1 lime
3/4 cup castor sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
2tbsp gelatine
a. Crush digestive biscuits till fine. Melt butter and add to the biscuits. Pour mixture into pie dish and press till firm; about 1/2 inch thick. Put the biscuits into freezer to set.
b. Blend cream cheese and sugar till smooth.
c. Add milk, lime juice and vanilly. Beat till white and frothy.
d. Melt gelatine in 1/2 cup hot water. Add into the creamed mixture to blend for a while.
e. Pour mixture onto the biscuits and put back into the freezer to set for an hour.
f. Remove and place it in the fridge after an hour.
#For variety, can add chocolate/coffee into the mixture. For decoration, can arrange fruit cocktail on top or just sprinkle chocolate rice.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
pirates of the caribbean - on stranger tide
When I walked out of the cinema; I could only say...ok la. I think I am quite disappointed with it. Not enough depth to the story. Bits and pieces of wit here and there but nothing substantial.
The mermaid part is interesting. As there is so much to cover; it's like touch and go. So can't really develop much of the plot on the mermaid. Well, it's not easy to find a movie that can really please me....I'm spoiled by the books I read. I need depth or else....no kick.
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