First Sickie

I nearly made it a full year without falling sick. Nearly. Its been 10 months 16 days since I packed my suitcases, leaving Malaysia for Australia and just when I thought I could get away with being healthy for a year.... I fell sick. It happened at the best of times too, the night before we were to fly to the Gold Coast! Grr......#$%*@!

I could blame the sickness on the flu vaccination I took a week ago or I could blame it on a colleague at work (the hospital is a bug playground no?). I got the full on sicky - sore throat, body ache, fever, general weakness, loss of appetite and etc.

Today I went to see my first doctor in Australia and got the usual antibiotics for it. I'm glad I got my Medicare card a month ago. Medicare is an Australian Goverment health program. The card came in handy for this consultation. Without it I would have had to pay consultation fees and extra for my medication. Hurrah for great timing!

Oh and Alex has a stiff neck too. The stories we could tell you about our eventful weekend... whooh! Quite ridiculous really. But that will be a story for another time.

For now I am going to enjoy my day off work, rest and hopefully recover before this weekend.


cheryl

Going on Another Journey

We are going to the Gold Coast tomorrow! Whheee! Happy, happy, happy...

I'm always happy to make a getaway from Canberra even if its just over the weekend. A little change every now and then is a good thing. A little surprise every now and then is also a very good thing! :)

Alex organised this trip way before and actually kept it a secret from me up till 4 days ago when he dropped the bombshell. I can't believe my man actually managed to keep something from me for once!

Our flight out of Canberra is at 620am tomorrow morning so its rise and shine at 5am. THAT I'm not looking forward to.

Will be back with posts about our short getaway when we return. Have a great weekend everyone!

cheryl

The Stuff That Keeps Us Going

Of late, Alex and I have been eating rather oily and unhealthy foods. I guess we got carried away with all the eating we did on our honeymoon trip and it just continued even though we have been back in Australia for 2 months now. This has resulted in us feeling really 'heaty'.

What is 'heaty'? Well, for my non Chinese readers, I shall attempt to explain 'heaty' here.

Heaty is often used to explain away these symptoms; dark yellow urine, pimples, constipation, nose bleeds, fever and feelings of irritability. If you have either one or a combination of these symptoms coupled with the fact that you know you haven't been drinking enough water or eating right lately, then we can safely say to you, " You are heaty"

This heaty explanation of ones well being is very much part of the culture of Chinese people in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and China. The Chinese people are known to have plenty of traditional remedies to treat ailments of every kind. Often these remedies involve the use of herbs, roots and leaves.

I recently bought one such remedy from Sydney after anticipating that Alex and I would need it in our pantry. I remember having to drink this when I was younger whenever I was 'heaty'. It does work and I was happy to be able to get my hands on this.


The above are the ends of ginseng roots boiled in water and it is the water that we drink to reduce heatiness. The ends of the ginseng roots only cost a small fraction of the price of ginseng. This pot was boiled for 45 minutes before it was taken off the heat. A little salt was then added to the liquid to make the drink more palatable - it is VERY bitter. I suppose things that taste bad are usually very good for you, i.e cough syrup, cod liver oil, vegetables :)

As a child I learnt about this drink from mom and I can now make my future kids drink this too :)


cheryl

Cleaning Obsession

Of late I have been rather obsessed with cleaning our bathroom tiles, shower box, long bath and kitchen floor tiles with a hospital grade cleaner. I do it once a fortnight or once every 3 weeks. I like the after effect of a smooth to the touch tile, clean corners, the knowledge that it is germ free and also to a certain extent, the sterile smell after a thorough clean.

Sterile scents doesn't sound too appealing does it? :) But I have discovered that the hospital grade cleaner does do a fantastic job so I'm willing to forego citrusy or fresh scents for the sake a germ free environment.

The cleaner is rather harsh on the hands though. I will have to be more generous with moisturisers and hand cream to make up for my loss :)

cheryl

Unwell

I am seated upright with my legs folded on the sofa and the laptop on my lap but strangely enough I feel as though I am seated on the sofa placed on a slope and with me leaning at a 45 degree angle to the left.

Slightly spinning but I hope I am not having a vertigo moment. Have not felt like this before. Oh help.

cheryl

Canberra SkyFire21 2009

I had such a lovely time tonight at the Canberra SkyFire! SkyFire is an annual event organised by FM 104.7, a massive show of fireworks even bigger than the one at New Years Eve and it’s held at the centre basin of Lake Burley Griffin. It’s a great picturesque setting for the event. Imagine the serene shores of a manmade lake surrounded by green slopes and national monuments on each side.

What's a description without photos to add to the imagination? I took some pictures before the sun set.

Old Parliament House with the current Parliament House in the background

Federation Place with its slopes filling up with party goers

Another side of Lake Burley Griffin with Australian War Memorial in the background. See the little people dotting the shoreline?

There was a short aerial show while we waited for the sun to go down and the show to begin.

Parachutists displaying their aerial skills with colored gas tanks

Helicopter ala 'Air Wolf'

We got to our chosen location at 5.30pm and we could see that all sides of the lake were jam packed with people bar our side. Hallelujah! I was told people had started arriving to secure a good vantage point as early as 12 noon and the show was only to start at 8.30pm! We quickly secured a good spot and plonked our picnic ware on a tarp on the ground. Alex and I recently invested in some outdoor foldable seats for occasions like these and they sure were comfy.

Our blue tarp with a flowery centre mat

Our comfy green seats - comes with a cup holder.. and only for AUD 8 each!!

We were about to sit down when two lovely ladies in red outfits came up to us and offered to take a photo of us for free. They were sponsored by good ol' McDonalds and with the free photo came a voucher for buy one get one free breakfast at McD. Freebies always make my day!

Two red ladies armed with SLR

Our complimentary shot

I took the shot below after the sun set. Federation Place has a lake side front with some world flags lining the walk. The night breeze was blowing nicely, making the flags look rather majestic against the dark skies. And of course, the seeing the Malaysian flag flying high sealed the shot.

The first of the fireworks

Second shot

The show this year was fantastic. I recorded the whole event to share it with you guys. Do click pause after clicking on the link to allow for the entire clip to load before you watch the video. Do look for the short appearance of boxes and hearts midway through the show. I thought that was such a surprise. And I love the finale best. Enjoy!

cheryl

A Nice Surprise

Alex picked me up from work today and I was nicely surprised when presented with the below. :) It came with a purple heart choccie.

The giving of flowers is never too old a trick to change a girls day from regular to wonderful. The flowers also reminded me of a certain girl friend's wedding bouquet :)

This is what I did with the gerberas. As you can see, still no proper vase. :) I have some short vases around the house but each one is already filled with dried flowers. So jars will have to do for now.

And, according to the Sydney Markets: Flower Meanings webpage, an orange gerbera means

'You are the sunshine of my life'

Say it together now," Awwwww......" :)

Thank you hubby. You made my day brighter too.

cheryl

Last Chance Harvey

Alex and I caught a movie today. Last Chance Harvey is a movie about Harvey (played by Dustin Hoffman) a jingle composer at the verge of losing his job. He travels to London to attend his daughter's wedding only to find out that she wants her stepfather to give her away at the wedding. As he struggles to keep his job and his composure at each family meeting, he gets thrown the final curveball when his boss informs him that he has lost his job.

Defeated and disappointed, he heads to the airport bar for a drink when he meets Kate (played by Emma Thompson) This was Harvey's second time meeting Kate. In their first meeting which was brief and not altogether pleasant, he was approached by Kate to participate in a survey as he got off the plane and as most passengers would, he brushed her off, citing exhaustion and a lack of time. At their second meeting, they become friends. With a little proding and witty banter, they get off to a slow but good start.

This is a nice show about new beginnings. Its about mature love where the emphasis of a relationship is more about companionship, warm presence and wholesome banter. Not young love which is heady, all about the rush of emotions and a fixation on physical attraction.

My favourite part was at the end of the show when Harvey seeks Kate out at her weekly book reading class to show her he was serious about embarking on their relationship. After a teary effort to reject change at this point of her life, Kate says, " So how is this going to work?"

"Well I don't know. I really have no idea," says Harvey.

After a thoughtful pause.... Kate says, "Let's take a walk.."

And a walk it is. After all isn't a relationship really about walking with your partner, having a warm, comfortable conversation until the sunset of life?

This was a feel good show... A nice and refreshing change from the usual love plot.

cheryl

In the Obituary..

She passed on before the weekend. Read about the previous post here.

I can only imagine the pain of her relative who was there during her collapse. To be relieved and happy that she was brought back from the brink of death only to experience the loss all over again in 3 days-a roller coaster of the worst of emotions.

Life can be short. I'm thankful for everything I have.

cheryl

Best of Summer

Summer is nearly over! I am sad for its passing for I do so love warm weather. Summer this year saw us stuffing ourselves to the brim with peaches and tomatoes. My in laws have a backyard where they plant peaches, tomatoes, chilli, apples, lemons and more except I don't remember anymore because I have yet to eat of its fruits. I remember only those I have tasted! :) As the saying goes, 'The way to a man's heart is through his stomach.' Obviously with me, the way to the woman's heart is through her stomach!


I am really going to miss the tomatoes. Home grown tommies taste so good. I have used them mainly in salads and tomato soup.





My simple salad of roughly chopped pico de gallo sans chillies tossed together with bacon, a dash of balsamic vinegar, parmesan cheese, cos lettuce and iceberg lettuce. Excuse the picture... we were really hungry had dug in before I remembered to take a picture. Even then it was a quick shot.

I am also going to miss these peaches. Sweet and succulent. We had enough given to us to have two each day for 2 weeks in a row. Such are the blessings of having in laws living close by huh? :)



Only 1 day to go before Autumn begins. I don't know much about gardening and planting. What are autumn fruits?



cheryl