Archive for February, 2008

first run in loughborough

February 28, 2008 at 4:16 pm · Filed under running

a quick post – just ran for the first time since coming here for about 1/2 hour in town. the weather in the morning was sunny and warm and really inviting to run in but, sadly, it did not last. by the time i got out at 3pm, it was cloudier and windier. nonetheless, i warmed up and set off, reminding myself that i had to work off all the calories gained from the cheesecakes and fish and chips i had been eating (more on my first first and chips later (:

i had thought the run would be a good time of exploration and enjoyment as i ran on new ground, listening to songs like michelle branch’s ”breathe” and jennifer lopez’s “feelin’ so good”. unfortunately, i didn’t really feel that way while running. instead of clearing my head, the wind, which was quite strong, gave me a headache and i had to cover my nose with my palms in my jacket quite a few times to keep it warm. the track pants, long “jane”s and PL jacket i was wearing was sufficient enough but it didn’t keep out the cold entirely. quite badly needed a tissue too as my nose was leaking a little.

but, despite of all of this, i’m glad i did run. feel a little healthier now and know my way around a bit more. also, don’t want to be very out of shape when i go back - will never do 21k if that’s the case! however, i do feel kind of sleepy now haha. think i’ll catch a short nap later (: going off to bathe. take care everybody! 

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my own nigella cooking show

February 26, 2008 at 5:53 pm · Filed under food

before i update on my life in loughborough and on my travels, i HAVE to tell you about my crazy-about-cheesecake days last week and show you the pretty pictures. i’m pretty sure you’ll ooh and ahh as much as i did while making/eating/taking photos of it (: 

some singaporeans whom i met at the chinese fellowship in loughborough invited me and a friend to their house on the last day of chinese new year for a meal and we decided to contribute by making cheesecake. i was a little worried that they wouldn’t have the ingredients i use back home when i make the cheesecake but most of the stuff was at tesco’s so all was well. we even bought blueberries for garnishing – 2 boxes for 3 pounds, which i think by singapore standards is reasonable, if not cheap.

4 of us then set off to start making the cheesecakes – one for the dinner at our friends’ house and one for us NUS exchange students. we got it done quite quickly - much faster than back home where i usually make it alone. 

as dinner was finishing in butler that night, i went to the stove and experimented with the blueberries, trying to heat and mush them in a pot over the stove with a little bit of water and sugar/honey to make blueberry sauce. it worked! i was really pleased with it.

the-four-chefs.jpg  – the four “dessert chefs” all in smiles with the yummy cheesecake. look at the oozy blueberry sauce! yummy (:

the next day, we brought the second cheesecake to the dinner at the other singaporeans’ house, not far from butler. this one was more special as it had two layers – the usual digestive layer and a chocolate brownie cookie layer. (i couldn’t find oreos at tesco’s so we made do with another different coloured biscuit.) had more difficulty cutting this one as it was more frozen than the first one but nonetheless, dessert was served. presenting: refridgerated two-layered cheesecake with homemade blueberry sauce served with ice cream on the side! (thanks jo for the pictures!)

oozy-sauce.jpg     blueberry-cheesecake-with-ice-cream.jpg     pretty-picture.jpg         

“heavenly” is probably something nigella would say. wouldn’t you agree? (:

  

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favourite V-day tunes/videos!

February 21, 2008 at 9:55 am · Filed under love

i know V-day has come and gone and i’ve never been one to celebrate V-day in a big way but these here just make you go awww… (: they’ve been stuck in my and my roomie’s head for a while now and i think you’ll like it too. enjoy! 

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20th Jan 2008: twenty-one* Part II (evening/PL & VJ)

February 14, 2008 at 7:12 am · Filed under events

first of all, i apologize for not doing this sooner! think i’ve forgotten some of the details but that doesn’t make the experience less meaningful – i still had a wonderful time with my wonderful friends! (:

 i remember i wasn’t sure how tired i would be, having one party after another. after my church friends had left from my house, i remember taking a quick shower, changing into my 21 party outfit and putting things (partyware, leftover food, drinks) into the car. pa then drove the family and i to yenchin’s place; i took a quick nap.

thankfully, yihui, weijun, xiaohui and alista came early to help yenchin decorate and set up things in the function room (thanks guys!). so, when we came, we didn’t need to do that much preparations. i set up my slideshow powerpoint, played my party mp3 playlist and decorated a bit. shirin also came earlier with the cake she baked me – i asked her to do it again for my party as it was so yummy! 

things took a while to start up as people took a while to arrive but in the end they were all there: yihui, weijun, alista, xiaohui, nadia; shirin, nadia, elaine, shiwei, ethel, robin, derek, justus, yenchin. we had dinner (thanks dear for taking care of the catering!) and then it was time for games. i played the same games as we did in the afternoon but this time round, the guys were more competitive haha. in the end they won overall. hope everybody still had fun though! 

these were the miss twenty-ones for the ”costume contest” - congratulations nadia, xiaohui and shiwei!

                                   nad-xh-sw-and-me.jpg

we took other group photos as well. the PL girls (plus weijun!):

 pl-girls-and-weijun.jpg   pl-girls-again.jpg  

the A51 – the one and only (: in solemn and candid moments:

a51-solemn.jpg   a51-candid.jpg

girlfriends (:

shirin-and-me-2.jpg   nad-sw-and-me.jpg   me-and-nad.jpg

so, once again, thank you everybody for coming! i treasure your friendship (: thanks for making my 20th-going-to-21st-year-period truly memorable. i printed this picture and put it in my photo rack on my desk over here in loughborough which means you all won’t be forgotten! *hugs*

20jan-evening.jpg

PS it’s not very clear here but the actual photo i printed is clear so i’ll be able to see all your cheery faces and think of you all while i’m here! 

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the loughborough exchange (:

February 13, 2008 at 9:26 pm · Filed under general

hello everybody! i’m safely in my room in loughborough university. thank God for His blessings – we had many unexpected blessings while making our way here. thanks for your prayers! i’m still settling in but hope to blog more fully soon. thinking of you all and of singapore food! the weather here is nice though – cold but i like the idea of putting on my coat! you all take care yah? EMAIL OR WRITE ME! would love to hear from you all (: God bless!  

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