Read this earlier today, and reckoned that I should make it into a mini poster - for it to be a reminder for us all.
Breakfast Plate - Scrambled Eggs + Sautéed Shitake Mushrooms
By Melissa - Thursday, May 29, 2014
I was yearning for scrambled eggs and the only logical solution for that hankering is to whip some up for breakfast today.
While I was picking the eggs from the tray, I spied some shitake mushrooms lurking around the refrigerator and declared that they should paired with the scrambled eggs.
I'm reaping the result of my brilliant split-second decision now.
While I was picking the eggs from the tray, I spied some shitake mushrooms lurking around the refrigerator and declared that they should paired with the scrambled eggs.
I'm reaping the result of my brilliant split-second decision now.
My supply of Greek yoghurt ran out, and I haven't got time to drop in the store. So, this was breakfast today...
Work wrapped up a little later than usual today, because I was on a two-hour conference call with our counterparts in UK and France. When the guy on the other end finally said "Cheerio!" and hung up, the lot of us who stayed back for the meeting gunned for the door and never looked back.
I met up with two of my favourite people (not to be confused with my two favourites) for dinner tonight, and I've always, always loved my time with them. They are amazing; my life has been enriched by their wise counsel and I've learned so much about ministry from them.
We had dinner at...
.
.
.
.
.
Our appetiser:
Us ladies made a unanimous decision to opt for a salad instead of soup because "it is less fattening."
My main course:
Top view of the dish.
Up close - This was so scrumptious. The chicken was tender (minus the skin and without fats - just the way I like it) and very well marinated.
----------
A little gift for the both of them:
Shamelessly branded the box of goodies as my own.
Pandan egg tarts and coconut tarts. Packed in some tea to accompany the sweet pastries.
The Weekend That Was - Ribs, Youths and Formal Invites
By Melissa - Monday, May 26, 2014
Friday (May 23rd, 2014)
AM: Work.
PM: Zoomed home after work. Jumped into the shower for a quick bath and I was on my way out with my Mumma for grocery shopping. We bought some ribs and russet potatoes at the market, so this was dinner...
Team effort - My mum was on the ribs, and I made the 'tatoes.
Saturday (May 24th, 2014)
AM: Slept in till 10am. One of the rare occasions when I get to stay under the covers long enough to tune out from the rest of the world (although only for a little while).
Noon: Reluctantly tore myself away from my bed's embrace, shuffled to the bathroom and got ready. Lunch, and dessert with one of my two favourites...
PM: Preached a message which I felt was in season for Youth Impact.
These youths have my heart.
Sunday (May 25th, 2014)
AM: Church.
PM: My bestie and I have this little tradition - For every event that I'd like her to attend (other than our hangout sesh-s), she has requested for a formal invite to be sent her way via Whatsapp. A little wacky, I know. I do it anyway because I love her and her goofiness.
An invi (purely created with Aurelia Bea) for our soiree this Friday...
.
.
.
.
.
A mug of hot tea, chocolates and jotting down God-whispers for tomorrow's message at Youth Impact.
------------
"How much you have in your hands is not a prerequisite for Him to use you. God is more concerned with what you are doing with what you have."
Melissa Cheah - May 23rd, 2014
I was facing a low period in my life several months back, when I just had so much on my plate to handle that I didn't know how or where to begin.
And then, *this* lovely gesture happened over dinner one of the nights and it truly lifted my spirit.
Today, I did a quick drop-in at the mall to grab some essentials. I hurriedly got what I needed, headed back to my car and was about to enter it when I was stopped by the same lady (the manager of Dragon-i) and I could see that she had no recollection of who I was. She asked (in a rather distressed tone) if there was by any chance that I had extra parking coupons with me and explained that she ran out of them.
I reached into my glove box, tore off several copies and told her not to worry about it.
God is truly magnificent. He positions us at an exact location for a specific time (Esther 4:14 - "For such a time as this" comes to mind) to be blessed during our time of need or to be a blessing to others in their moment of need.
The sweet lady might not remember who I was or how much her little act of good will meant to me, but I'm certainly averred today that we never really know how far the ripples of our kindness go and oh... what joy it is to be used as His vessel of blessing.
I was out for dinner with Tinki Talks and JZ last night. We selected Chilli's Grill & Bar Restaurant as our dinner venue, got a table and ordered...
... to share. (One of my favourite things to order at Chilli's. Was elated to find out that Tinki Talks liked it too, so we were able to share this. Thanks, babe!)
Not long after we were there, a group of three college kids (two guys and a gal) entered and sat next to our booth.
JZ was well-behaved all through dinner time, but he lost interest in the crayons after awhile and since I was rather full after my first wrap, I took him for a walk outside while his Mummy continued eating.
He pointed at all the lights we saw along the way, uttered a couple of things in baby language (which I don't get) and it was incredibly adorable. We stopped to see some of the older children have their turn at the bungee trampoline and he mimicked them, effervescently (Too cute!).
We returned inside after that, and Tinki Talks smiled at me with a cheeky glint in her eyes. She leaned in and said in a low but excited voice, "OMG, you are not gonna believe what I just heard!". And, being the inquisitive person that I am, I immediately responded with, "What is it?"
I didn't know whether to laugh out loud or roll my eyes till the heavens come down at what I heard. In Tinki's own words...
She ordered a plate of mashed potatoes. When one of the guys with her asked her why she's just eating mashed potatoes and nothing else, she replied smugly, "There are hot girls, there are pretty girls, and there are.. potato girls."
She's proud to call herself a POTATO GIRL?! Must have conked her head on the headboard when she woke up that morning.
I was completely guilty of being a glutton this past weekend and last night's dinner was no help...
.
.
.
.
.
Prawn noodles with pork ribs
I thought it well to get back on track with the program, so this was breakfast today...
Greek yoghurt with freshly cut mangoes and muesli
Earlier today while I was walking back to my cubicle, my colleague, Archangel, stood in my way and smirked.
The following conversation stemmed...
.
.
.
.
.
Archangel: *stares at me and refuses to budge*
Me: *zeroes in on his eyeballs and stares back*
Archangel: *smirking* You shalt not pass.
Me: *poker face* You're not Gandalf. Step aside, dood.
Archangel: *bursts out laughing* BWAHAHAHAHAHA. You're such a nerd! HAHAHAHA. Nerd!
Me: *unamused* Says the dood in glasses, an oversized t-shirt and army shorts.
Archangel: *still choking with laughter* Whatever, NERD.
----------
He would have totally gotten a smack on the back (facetiously, of course) for annoying me if my boss were around to witness the conversation.
***
Dearest Tua Koo,
Thank you for being so loving, generous and giving. Say Koo and you are THE best uncles a girl could ever ask for, let alone imagine having.
Happy 50th (for tomorrow)!
Love you very much,
Melissa.
------------
Saturday (May 17th, 2014)
AM: Trudged to the bathroom groggily and got ready by 6:30am (an ungodly hour to be up at on a weekend). Chowed down breakfast and we were on our way to our weekend getaway.
Noon: Arrived in Hatyai, checked into our rooms, refreshed ourselves and headed out for lunch.
This was dessert...
Decadence at its finest.
We returned to the hotel after some light shopping for a siesta and I decided to take some time on my own to loiter around the hotel premises.
Rooftop garden.
PM: Road trip to Songkhla for dinner.
One of the aunties (who's also a fellow Malaysian) at the restaurant informed us of an annual seafood festival which was going on within walking distance from where we were at. We thanked her and proceeded there after we were done with our meal.
The place was a melange of food stalls, household items kiosks, plants cornucopia and even a booth selling animals! (I spotted an adorable squirrel and I was so tempted to bring it back with me.)
Sunday (May 18th, 2014)
AM: Woke up, readied ourselves and had breakfast at the hotel. We left for the morning market soon after that.
Noon: Lunch.
PM: Homeward bound.
Shot taken on Monday (May 12th, 2014) at 6:45pm, while I was en route for a dinner appointment.
----------
In as much as I'm a stickler for things to remain familiar and unchanged, I'm also sucker for adventure (I know, I baffle myself at times as well).
I love being in the know and taking charge of things. Not all the time, but for the most part.
However, over the years, I've learned that free falling into the unknown can be one of the scariest and most rewarding experiences in life. It's terrifying because I didn't know what was ahead of me, but at the same time, it was enormously freeing because I was stripped off control of everything.
And right now, I am aching (To be really honest, I've been wishing for months now, ever since this happened) to hit the road and just wander...
.
.
.
.
.
Destination: Unknown.
AM: Church. Sang Celine Dion's 'Because You Loved Me' and dedicated it to all the mums in the house.
With my beautiful Mumma.
This dood took Barney Stinson's self-five, tossed it into the Lame abyss (never to be heard of or seen ever again) and scored himself a position as the King of Shameless Narcissism.
A truly legendary celebration of self.
Several months ago, I decided to give clean eating diet a go and it is (to date) one of the best diet decisions I've made, as I am reaping the benefits now.
I know that there are various definitions to this philosophy (which I love), but I've honed my personal definition of what it means to eat clean (no processed food, refined sugar and major cutdown of carbs intake) and it has worked tremendously well for me.
This morning's breakkie:
Greek yoghurt with mango puree and muesli. SO lush!
Because of the nature of my job, I am pretty anal about spelling.
Scratch that.
I am obsessively and compulsively hung up over spelling, to the point that I can no longer read any written copy without scanning for typos or punctuation errors FIRST; which makes me good at what I do, and a real pain to deal with outside of work.
When I read the following post (refer below), I was laughing AND jabbing myself in the eye with a pen simultaneously (the latter being done figuratively, of course).
Presenting...
Scratch that.
I am obsessively and compulsively hung up over spelling, to the point that I can no longer read any written copy without scanning for typos or punctuation errors FIRST; which makes me good at what I do, and a real pain to deal with outside of work.
When I read the following post (refer below), I was laughing AND jabbing myself in the eye with a pen simultaneously (the latter being done figuratively, of course).
Presenting...
.
.
.
.
.
------------
My personal favourite of the lot:
How I saw the screenshot:
Special mention to the comment highlighted in green - Pretty good grammar and spelling. However, his request for the girl to ignore the corrections, followed by a coddling compliment automatically transports him into the Dimwit-who-likes-bimbos category.
Because...
.
.
.
.
.
She's back! From her week-long holiday in China.
------------
I made Annie promise not to get me anything from her trip, but as soon as I got into the car, she handed me these:
She knows that I abhor the finger-flicking feline (otherwise known as Hello Kitty), but her rationale for getting the gift for me anyway was that there are Hershey's chocolates stored in it, which worked. The woman knows me well.
We were both hankering for some Thai food last night. So, we visited Golden Triangle, ordered a feast and our longings were placated.
Appetiser:
The prawn cakes were crispy on the outside, and tastefully fluffy on the inside. I liked that there wasn't any prawn odour when I sliced into 'em.
Dinner was (we ordered to share):
The dish was easy on the eyes, but unfortunately not up to par for our taste buds. The both of us agreed that the fried rice was lacking in flavour.
Spicy and creamy tomyam broth with a mildly sourish tinge (just enough for my palate), with shrimps and glass noodles. This was mouthwateringly good. I'm planning to come back to the restaurant for more of this.
------------