2010 in Memoriam.

Wow.

I mean, I don't have any other words to describe 2010 in retro.

Just WOW.

2010 has been a year of new beginnings for me. I transferred to a new school in my hometown, Keningau. At first, I was so anxious about the distance and the new surroundings but it turned out that my fears were in vain. I fell in love with this school and despite the long drive to and back, I did not see it as a difficulty, rather I think I forgot about it! :P

My current school is one of the blessings in disguise that I have ever experienced. I forged a close friendship with my colleagues and I hope I'll be able to expand my social circles. *crossed fingers*

Then, there's a lot of luck surrounding me this year. I escaped a car accident, I won a washing machine, I received several awards in school, I was helped by total strangers, the list just go on. Perhaps in 2011, I wished for more luck and more love to be received and shared with everyone.

Ah, love. I realised that my most popular post is Shoulder Guy. Well, we're still friends and the distance is not helping a lot for us to foster a closer relationship. There are times when we argued and patch up again. Sometimes I wished I had the guts to just say what I wanted to say, but my fear of rejection and destroying our friendship overcome my desire to be more than just friends with him. I don't know whether 2011 will be the year to move on but whatever life brings, just let it be.

2010 has been a year of travel for me. Singapore in June and went to Hong Kong and some parts of China in December. I also started my solo trip, hope there's more to come.

Hmm...what else? Can't think of any...macam banyak benda happening in 2010 hehehe...

So for 2011, I'll do my resolutions as I go on :-)

May all of you receive more blessings, happiness, joy, peace and luck in the upcoming year!!

Fin.

How my cousin's wedding brought my groove back...

My days post-Christmas were quite gloomy as I lost my mojo...again. I don't feel like celebrating, I don't feel like mingling, I don't feel the excitement of being merry. I just don't know the real reason why...perhaps, my mojo was "stolen" or I was too reliant on a person to be the "mood activator" of some sort. But, came 27th December as I journey back to Keningau, I realise that if I let my moodiness to overshadow the excitement of life, then I'll be a living fool. 

My cousin, Gabriel is getting married on the 28th December and his reception will be held at our village in Kg.Sawang, Melalap the day after. It's been awhile since Aru's abode held a celebration. And for that reason, almost everyone balik kampung to help out with the preparation and to share the occasion with the groom and bride.

Us putting up the decorations..

Some of us were given church duties a.k.a jadi pengapits...I did the offertory with the rest of my girl cousins.

One big happy family...by the way, Getz took this photo. She was there, too!

The next day, it was the reception at the groom's side. A week before, I was told to get a white dress for the reception because "adalah tu..." said my uncle. Actually, all us singles (technically and literally) were asked to ikut rombongan fetching the groom and bride from the bride's house. First time la I join this sort of custom. Interesting hehehe

Single ladies taking the aura of wedded bliss from the lovely bride.

Over hill and vale and kelapa sawit...the course of true love will never run smooth.

Then, macam biasa...we all makan-makan...minum-minum...and....

WE PARTAYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Doing the "chair" dance...bersolo-solo menari atas kerusi plastik...

 Let's partayyyyyyyyyy the family wayyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!

 Yamseng to the pengantins!!

 The groom kena paksa menari di kerusi...siapa suruh kau jadi raja sehari?hehehe

 Do the train dance!!!

The next day, we gathered again to gotong-royong cleaning up the after party mess. Well, no pics here sebab sibuk kan mengasi bersih. It was a hot day...so the groom ajak kami pi mandi sungai...sia ingat dorang pigi sungai yang depan rumah tu. Confident kunun ni mau "kasi basah kaki seja"...

Sekali...

 I just knew that there is another river nearby my kampung..I saw a signboard that says it's Sungai Padas, but really?

 That's us before getting ourselves wet.

 That's us..all wet.

I came home that day feeling so refreshed and happy. I guess, sometimes going back to our family roots can be uplifting to the spirit..

Here's a Happy New Year 2011 to everyone!!

Two days before Christmas...

Two more days before Christmas and I am so glad that my Christmas Mojo is back!! Where did it go? That is another story. So today, I want to blog about yesterday and today sebab siok...hehehe...

Bah, cerita 22th December dulu...

Ladies and gentlemen, after 28 years I finally gotten myself a professional pedicure. Iya, kesian kan? Lama suda bah kunun sia mau pigi, namun because of kekangan kewangan and masa, my dreams of getting an OPI-ed pedicure remained a dream until yesterday. By the way, a note for the male readers, OPI is a brand of nail polish...it's not just a nail polish, it's one of the best nail polish around the market.

nah, ini lah OPI punya nail polish..

So, after picking Belle from work, we made a beeline to CentrePoint and then to Palm Square. There at the Nail Bar, we both catch up over cerita-cerita lama and just enjoy each other's company. Who is Belle? She's my bestfriend time sekolah menengah duluuuuuuuu....

This is Belle. 

 Ini saya. (Dei...ignore the bad hair.)

 My feet pre-pedicure. Punya banyak kesan-kesan luka...uhuhuhu...nonetheless, an hour later...

TADAAAA!!!!

UuuUuuuUuuu...those little piggies are so sexy in red!!!

Then, after pedicure my cousin Abigail texted me and asked me to come along with my other cuzzies to look for the Pink dress. What for? Another cousin is getting married this 28th so all of us single ladies were asked to do the offertory during Mass later. My aunt (the mother of the groom) asked us all to wear pink at church and white at the home reception. I only have to look for a pink dress. So, we meet up at CityMall (the land of so many babelicious dresses) and found what we were looking for...yeay!! Then, we all dinner at PapaRich and baru kami realised...we had just had our cousins' outing!! Well, we did planned for an outing but balik-balik postpone...baru sekarang terjadi nie hehehe...

 Abigail and Becky. They're sisters (in case you were wondering).

 Livvy and Haydee (Livvy shares the same parents with Abigail and Becky. Haydee is my aunt's daughter),

 Dudut, Ezekiel (Maryanne's fiance to be) and Maryanne. (Si Maryanne and si Dudut adik beradik).

 I was the waitress-in-charge that night.  Bulih-bulih ah tersalah tulis order. Fail lah kalau jadi waitress...adeh.

Us.

Bah, sekarang cerita ini hari. 24th December is my mom's birthday. For this year, I decided to summon my dormant Nigella-side and relearn my baking skills which I had left for almost 8 years now. I revisited Putatan's Bake With Me shop, got my supplies and get ready to dirtify my sleeves. Oh, I also prayed that the cupcakes would turn out okay. 8 years of abstaining from baking could be cake-castrophic!!

 My cupcake making ingredients and supplies. Oh, and my kitchen hehehe

 I bought the measuring sets just for this project. I don't know why I feel so proud of owning these thingamajics..hahah...

 Mom's electric mixer broke on me just when I needed it the most!! Nah, tagaplah tangan kanan sia due to excessive cake mixture beating...

 Second batch ready for the oven. First batch? Hehehe...hangus sebab tu oven terlampau panas :-P 

 Cupcakes yang sudah jadi cupcakes...

 Cupcakes in pink. It's Mom's favourite colour, sia decorate sendiri nie...

The finished product!!! Just for your information, the pink one is vanilla flavoured; the chocolate ones are chocolate mint (my fave topping cos they taste like Tim Tams) and the white toppings are cream cheese frosting. 

I hope Mom will love it!!

Riang Ria di Tanjung Aru!

We've been friends for eight years now and it has been an annual tradition for us to have a reunion in December. This year, we decided to have our gathering al fresco at Tanjung Aru Beach. We initially want the reunion to be held at Karambunai Lagoon, however since most of us are almost clueless of how to get there, we decided to have it at Tanjung Aru instead. Well, reunion story aside (for a minute), I think the beach is tad cleaner than it used to be. Good! Okay, reunion punya cerita...

 Al, Pian and Bridget trying to pull off a Man Vs.Wild attempt at creating a fire.

 Finally, a flicker!!

 There's me taking out the mineral water from my car. Thank God we brought two boxes...it was a very hot day..

 Our chicken wings roasting on the fire...

 BBQ wings ala the King of Grill...the wings cooked faster if marinated for more than 10 hours...

Yeah, it's burnt but who cares...we're hungry..

After taking lunch-sized bites, we ran to the seaside like children released from school on a holiday break....

 The view of the beach...it's so clean and beautiful now.

 I just can't leave my phone behind!!

 Kami main-main air...berphotoshoot di air....

 Moments like this are so priceless...

Pian and me bertanding sepa paling boroi...well, you decide...:P

Since taking photos seems to be our primary activity, I asked Pian and Bridget to walk the beach so I can capture their footprints...I don't know about the pic...I kinda like it...do you?

Pian took this one...

And the girls made the beach more beautiful...

And here we are, using the tree trunk as a prop..

Apart from photo-session, we also have our exchange gifts. Yalah, semua suda kerja and dekat Christmas lagi, so hadiah mestilah ada kan?hehehe..Felly got my present. Hoped you love the mugs, babe..

I got Felly's present. Guess what she gave me?

 Tadaaaaaaa....HANDBAG and MAKEUP BAG!!! Love it so much!! Thanks, Getz!!

Before we leave, Lina served us her delightful dessert! Yummayyyyy!!!

 AnnieMing was also there!! That's us...err..poll-dancing?hehehe..

With that, we ended our 2010 gathering...till next year's guys!!!