Long Weekend and Partial Lemon Juice Detox Plan ♥

We Melbournians are having a long weekend thanks to the Queen's birthday!

Long live the Queen!! (though it's not really her birthday -.-)


Now, I've just started to introduce lemon juice into my diet to cleanse my body of toxins.

There's a lot of hype around this lemon detox diet as a lot of celebrities such as Beyonce and Mariah Carey use it to shed weight quickly. The week-long lemon detox plan mainly consists of drinking 6 - 10 glasses of lemon with palm tree syrup and a small pinch of cayenne pepper each day as a meal replacement. It also includes drinking saltwater and herbal tea daily. No solid foods are to be taken throughout this diet.

Unfortunately, like most fads, following this diet will allow you to lose weight rapidly as it is a starvation diet; causing you to lose muscle rather than fat.

I plan to incorporate lemon juice into my life, not as a meal replacement but rather to facilitate the removal of toxin build-up in my system. Lemon, honey and cayenne pepper are immune boosters. The addition of cayenne pepper helps increase your metabolism which means it can help burn fat!

Today would be my third day and I am already beginning to feel healthier.

LEMON JUICE DETOX DIET

Mornings:
I've started each morning with a cup of hot water with a squeeze of lemon juice.
It certainly perks me up! LOL

Nights:
I'd have a glass of honey-lemon juice with a small (very small) pinch of cayenne pepper before a meal and another glass a couple hours before bed. Now if you're planning to use cayenne pepper, please be mindful that it is spicy hot so please use as little as possible, to begin with, to see how well you can tolerate it and you can add more as you get used to it. 

HONEY-LEMON CAYENNE PEPPER RECIPE

Ingredients:
250mL warm water
1 tablespoon of honey
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
a pinch of ground cayenne pepper

To make your honey-lemon juice with cayenne pepper, mix one tablespoon of honey with one tablespoon of lemon juice in 250mL of warm water.

Add a tiny pinch of cayenne pepper (ground) and stir well before consumption.


Precautions:
I will also advise you to stir your drink so that the cayenne pepper is well distributed prior to drinking. I didn't do it once before and in my last gulp, I had a mouth full of the pepper. Although I didn't use a lot, it was NOT pleasant. It will leave a zing in your mouth and also down your throat. Yikes!



Now if you're planning in the actual lemon detox plan to lose weight, please do your research first. There are a lot of fads out there that can aid you in weight loss but are actually harmful for you in the long term.

Have a good weekend everyone!

//♥

Lazy sundays & Sally Hansen Nail Art Pens

Ahh.... it's a gorgeous Sunday afternoon :D

The weather has been miserable overall these few weeks but today... today is just lovely. I feel like running outside and bask in the warm sunlight! ♥


It's one of those days where you just want to do nothing and laze around all day.

Almost ;)

Lucky for you, I will post a short blog and THEN laze around all day!!





Since I've been obsessed with dolly-wink inspired nail patterns, I went out to purchase the Sally Hansen nail art pens!

SALLY HANSEN NAIL ART PENS

I bought two; black and baby pink which were retailed at approximately AU$13.00 each. Not exactly cheap. Bought these two from the Priceline in the city!

So armed with the black nail art pen, I tried my second attempt at Dolly Wink inspired nails.

Looks like a pretty decent attempt. I was able to create fairly clean lines and intricate details; such as the "lace trim" on my fourth finger!

Now, the bad bits....

You really MUST wait till your base polish is totally dry otherwise the felt tip of the pen can easily scrape through. Even then, you have to be careful when applying a top coat because it can cause the 'art pen' polish to run and smear.  Eeeek!

Sadly, I am unable to duplicate the patterns on the nails of my right hand because like most of you out there, I am NOT ambidextrous.


Right hand...

Definitely not as great as the patterns on my left hand.

I was not able to create anything decent at all so in the end, I used a paperclip to make my designs but umm... as you can see.. I failed badly.

So all in all, the nail pens are still better tools than a toothpick/paperclip to draw but in my humble opinion, I wouldn't buy them again  :|

Okay. Going to laze around now!

pic source: http://sisinmaru.blog17.fc2.com/

 

Will update soon!

Slave Hunters / Chuno

I am currently addicted to a Koren drama called Slave Hunters (called "Chuno" in Korean)

And it's all Josh's fault! During his trip back home to Malaysia, his mother was watching this drama on telly. He became hooked onto it and so he began hunting for (pun intended) the DVD set.

picture credit: allkoreandrama.com

Now I don't usually enjoy Korean dramas because they make me cry tons!! T___T
(And I did cry a fair bit so far watching this particular one)

Normally, I would prefer a modern drama to an olden one, but after a bit of persuasion and the first episode, I was completely won over.

The storyline was a little confusing at first because we were not used to the olden terminologies and Korean names. Moreover, the subtitle work was a little poor; the names were spelt differently in some episodes. Occasionally, there were no translations during some conversations! Although, these inconsistencies left us a little bewildered and frustrated at times, they did not make the show any less enjoyable.

There is a large number of main characters in the show; each of them play an interesting role, and unknown to them at first, they become entangled in an intense power strife that would change the future of Korea. The plot is strong and exciting, with romance, revenge and greed thrown into the mix.



The main character, Lee DaeGil is played by the well-known Korean actor Jang Hyuk (You might recognize him from Windstruck and Successful Story of a Bright Girl)

 
DaeGil is Joseon's best slave hunter, who actively captures runaway slaves for money. He was once a nobleman who fell in love with one of his slaves, Un Nyun (Lee Da Hae). Quite predictably, DaeGil's father objected to their relationship and decided to punish them by selling her away. Un Nyun's half-brother could not bear to lose his sister so he killed DaeGil's family and sets their house on fire. He believed that he had killed DaeGil in the fire, and ran away with Un Nyun to start a new life.

DaeGil became a slave hunter in order to pursue his first and only love, and her half-brother, the man who had destroyed everything he had.




















CHECK OUT THOSE ABS MAN!!
@)#*@)(FASGH@##@11!!
He's not the only one who is ripped either *O*


*ahem*


Song Tae Ha (played by Oh ji Ho)  is the best swordsman in Joseon, and also the close friend of the Crown Prince. He and his men were wrongly accused of a crime and were all made into slaves. After TaeHa learnt that the Crown Prince was poisoned and his youngest son was in grave danger, he decided to head to Jeju to save the future ruler of Korea. On his way, he met Un Nyun (who was now called Hye Won) and they soon began a romantic relationship.

*Dum dum dum....



Now, there is a lot more to this than just hunting slave, but I can't be bothered to write the whole synopsis down, so if you're still curious, have a read here  Slave Hunters Synopsis - allkoreandrama






I can't decide whether I like the character DaeGil because he can be quite conniving when it comes to pursuing slaves. At times, he shows his kind and caring side. Other times, I find him very cold-hearted and selfish. I suppose this makes his character so intriguing and complex?

Song Tae Ha is definitely my favourite character in the show; he falls into the category of your typical mysterious tall, dark, handsome brooding-type hero who doesn't say very much unless he has to. He has a strong, calm presence, and carries himself in a dignified manner. Plus, he looks a little bit like Takeshi Kaneshiro *O*

























pictures credit: dangermousie.livejournal.com


I even think he looks better with a mustache & beard! *O*


Ugh.. I have a feeling that most of the characters in Chuno would not have a happy ending T___T
Why is it in most korean dramas, they kill off their most-loved characters???

Adult Grey Lenses Review

I know I promised to post this up a long time ago... and I have no excuses since I know you all will forgive me anyway *bats eyelashes


As some of you might know/remember, I purchased two pair of lenses from  www.pinkyparadise.com
I'll do each review individually in separate posts.

Pinkyparadise is a Malaysian based online store. They offer a large range of coloured lenses imported from a Korean manufacturer; they carry many popular branded lenses, and even other beauty products and accessories.

In comparison to most contacts sold in Australia, these were extremely cheap. I was able to purchase two different types of lenses for the price of my Grey Storms, and still have money left to buy bubble tea!!!

Shipping was fairly quickly, despite being sent from Malaysia.
Moreover, the people managing the store were very helpful and responded to my questions almost immediately.

I'm not sure if they still have the promotion but when I purchased my lenses, they gave me cute animal lenses for free!!

I got the piggy and the hippo! ♥





Alright, first up are E.O.S Adult Grey Lenses

*promo pic taken from website

























These lenses are very very very very very very cool. The colour changes depending on the light; they look almost purple-blue in the photo above, as opposed to grey.




















And when I put them on, they don't actually look grey either. They look rather blue most of the time.
Now to time of it, they don't EVER look grey on me. But that's alright, the blue/purple is so pretty, I don't mind.






















 In dim light.





They actually look quite natural; not scary and as attention-seeking as my Storms.

Out of the three pairs that I own, these are my favourite.  There are plenty of reasons why these lenses reign superior to the other two and probably the rest out there in the market.
 


Comfort-wise these babies are great. They are so much more comfortable than the Grey Storms.
I could wear them for about 6 hours without a problem.


Although they are not as enlarging as circle lenses, there is a dark outer rim that makes a slight difference in iris size. They certain give the iris extra definition.
They fit my eyes quite well too. Some lenses can be so large that they actually don't move with your eyeballs; very annoying!

The reason I decided to get grey was because grey contacts look great on most asians. I wanted to get something that I could wear without startling people too much.

These lenses look quite natural that I even wear them to work. I get many compliments from these particular lenses. YHwee's cousin even thought I was born with blue eyes? LMAO!




Next up: Circle lens review



Have a good long weekend guys!! :D

Project D

 

Can you guess what I'm making next??

Hope that those who celebrate Chinese New Year, I hope you had a good one! Josh has returned back to his hometown in Malaysia so I'm without him for 2 whole weeks.

I celebrated Chinese New Year with Rudi instead. HAHAHA!

We went to Chinatown in the City and managed to catch a street lion dance performance outside of a restaurant. It's a little different to the ones back home in Brunei but not enough to keep me interested.

Years ago, I would have been excited (and also scared) of the lions as they are always much larger than I am. Moreover, their movements are often erratic.

As a child, I never understood why my mother would just rather stand back and watch from afar while I would frantically try to catch a glimpse of the lions.

I'm turning 23 and I'm already bored.

Uh oh.

I'm really glad that I went out though. It sure beats rotting at home alone anyway!!

OH! My birthday is in 11 days!!

Cards and presents are welcome!

Please email me for my postal address! XD

Kthnxbai!

The Man in the Mirror

For starters, I woke at 7.20 am from a terrifying nightmare. Then I found out that Michael Jackson passed away.

:(

I was born in the late 80s, so MJ was already white when I came to know of him. I was never really a big fan but I certainly have my fair share of MJ music and videos!

I particularly remember 'Black or White'. I laughed when Macauley Culkin plugged in his guitar, turned the volume knob to 'Are you Insane?' (or something to that effect) then blasted his "dad" out of the room to Africa(?). Also, the face morphing of the people starring in the music videos really stuck with me. I thought it was really, really, really cool.

My parents liked him but did think he was weird. I believed that he was eccentric as well, but I guess he's probably just misunderstood. I remember watching his clips and music videos, and never did understand why masses of people cried or fainted during his concerts.
No one does that anymore. I guess it's not cool to do that nowadays. Wait.. do kids still use the word 'cool'?

Michael came to Brunei in 1996 (I was 9) for a concert. I remember my family and I heading up to the city, to Jerudong Park to watch him perform. Unfortunately, we couldn't get into the concert area due to the large crowds so we had to watch his performance on a massive TV screen instead.

Since he loves amusement rides, Michael went on several of the rides in Jerudong while he was there for his concert. I recall seeing Michael Jackson only a few metres in front of me. He and his family had gotten off the water log ride and was in a golf cart. There were body guards everywhere. There was a buzz of excitement as everyone gathered around trying to get a glimpse of him.
I just stood there in awe.

But the cool thing was my mom who managed to sneak through security and walked up to Michael Jackson while he was in the cart. The cart wasn't going anywhere because of the large crowds so my mom grabbed the opportunity. She extended her hand towards him. He looked a litte surprised but naturally, could not refuse to shake the hands of a fan. My mom quickly thanked him and made her way back into the crowds.

I have no idea how she did it.

My mom sometimes can do the most unpredictable things. But I'm glad she did. How many people can say, "My mom shook hands with Michael Jackson"??

Funnily, not many people believe me so I stopped telling people.



Although I'm not a massive fan, I think he's incredibly talented and is a musical genius. I suppose his music did have some influence on my life. The 'Earth Song' had quite an affect on me; I was only a child then but it made me aware of how we were destroying the earth with our greed. I remember singing 'Heal the world' on karaoke at my cousin's place.

Thinking back of these fond memories really sadden me. The world will be mourning for the loss of a legend.

May you rest in peace, Michael.

Chocolate Lava Cake

I will need to learn how to make this!


I may even be able to win Prince William's heart with this sacrilegious chocolate lava cake.
'Kate who?' he'll say.

Delectable moist chocolate cake

Warm chocolate fudge oozing out

It must be sinful to taste this good!

It must be winter. My primitive instinct is telling me to fatten up.

Bugger.

Renewed Strength

Thou shall not falter

Thou shall not run away

Thou shall not make excuses

Thou shall not wallow in self pity

Thou shall pick thy self up when fallen

Thou shall face challenges

Thou shall embrace change

Thou shall remain positive

Success will ensue

And thou shall taste the sweet bliss of triumph

Butterflies

In less than a month, I will have written a thesis.

A thesis that will be read and graded by individuals who expertise in the field of bone cancer.
I will be required to present my work in a seminar in front of an audience consisting of academic staff, my examiners, professors and students.

My work will be bound into a book and copies stored away into the library of my university.
Whether it'll be worth a First-Class or not.. by one way or another it will happen.

I cannot express the amount of pressure, anxiety and stress that has plagued me for the past month and continues to do so.
I lack quality sleep due to the constant nightmares and vivid dreams.

Time just slips by my fingers, making it feel like it will be an eternity before my thesis writing is complete.


I complain and lament about the amount of work. But mostly because I lack a lot of things.
The lack of sleep. The lack of determination. The lack of confidence in myself. The lack of the social life that I love and dearly miss.

And when I think to myself, everyone lacks something. Each and everyone of us use it as an excuse.

Sure, I don't interact with people as much as I used to.
So now, I am unhappy and can't write as well.
Boo Hoo.
But does it make a difference if I do? Or is it just as an excuse because I am afraid of reality?

I am aware that certain things that greatly affects the outcome, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem. Just like the "butterfly effect".
But surely, there must be ways to overcome the battle you're facing?
Perhaps it's not as bad as you think it is.
It's all about perception.


So I've got to think positively and know that I will get through this.
Because I AM capable of doing so.

Wish me luck!

It's time to let go

I have just made the biggest decision of my life.

I have decided to discontinue my Honours project with Dr Jason Able.

I know it’s surprising especially I have been brought up (I suspect as most Asian kids are) to never give up in whatever I do and stick it through.

I for one, never expect to find myself here… where I thought most young adults find themselves; fresh out of uni with a qualification and yet no real sense of direction in life.

Two months ago, I figured that if I did Honours, I wouldn’t have to bother with the prospect of finding a job or applying for a PR. I thought that once I’ve finished my thesis, I would be able to sort that out in my own sweet time.

I am so unprepared for the real world. I’m scared but I’m excited.

One minute I can be extremely positive and thrilled at the thought of being in the workforce but the next, I fidget and squirm in my seat with horrible thoughts of being unemployed and having to return to Brunei. Ugh.

My decision to quit Honours was extremely hard.
I had a long heartfelt talk to Jason Able. He does this to each of his Honours students at the start of their year and apparently 99% of them has cried. You don’t have to wonder if I did.

I have had a thought about quitting before but I didn’t because I thought about the scholarship that I would have to give up.
But I didn’t quit and stuck through it for another three weeks.

Couple of days ago, my mom called and realized that I was unhappy. So she urged me to quit. I never saw that coming!
She reminded me that Honours was my choice and that I came to Australia to complete a degree. She said that I did it and she’s proud of me. At this point I was sobbing uncontrollably.

She said that it was still my decision whether I want to continue Honours or not and no matter what path I chose, she would be behind me and support me.

Funnily enough, the next morning Jason had the one-on-one talk with me and her words came back to me. Jas asked me a series of questions to determine how committed I would be to the project.

I do not feel the project with my heart and soul.

And because of my current situation, I cannot give him the 100% that he wants me to give.
I dread waking up some days because of the lengthy bus rides and long hours in the lab. I doubt that I can give him the 1st class that he wants me to. I am already feeling the immense pressure.

I know it seems rather early as most students haven’t even started theirs yet but my summer research project was actually a part of my Honours (I was to obtain a promoter gene required for my Honours project), so technically I have been thrown into the deep end of the pool from the start.
So it won’t be so bad if I stop now because Honours officially commenced last week.

Perhaps I’ll find another project that I would enjoy or maybe I’ll get a job.
I find myself waking up knowing that I can be a kick-ass Honours student if it was the right project and I wonder if I should let it all go.

Anyway it's still not too late to do so :)

Wish me luck!


And happy chinese new year!
Those of you who are collecting 'ang bao' please share some with me!!

I can smell danger

There was this poster sale in my uni.


I'm talking about HUGE posters. They were posted all over outside the caf, some onto cardboards then latched onto walls.





Anyway, it was unbelievably windy today.
As I was walking with Khoa towards the caf, I noticed two posters which had been pasted on thick box-type cardboards and taped onto a lamp post. The wind blew and one of the posters started moving and was lifted off the ground but still clung onto the lamp post.


I went, "Whoa, I hope it doesn't break off and kill someone."

The moment I said that, it broke off and everyone stared in horror as it flew right towards this group of students who were sitting not too far away.


We held our breaths when it slammed right onto another lamp post, just narrowly missing this girl's head.

It was so loud because it smacked the lamp post with great force . . . man. . I can still hear it in my head!





Khoa just stared at me with his jaw open wide.



The whole day he was going, "Lish can predict bad things. She said that the poster was gonna fly and it flew!! I'm gonna stick with her now. I may be able to cheat death," and "Hey, Lish, do you sense any dangers?"
I'd go, "Yes, keep your eyes on that sign board. It's out to get us."

BUAHAHAA! I crack myself up! *dabs a tear away*





I don't claim to have any danger senses. I'm not spiderman. Or spiderpig.

Anyho.


The only other time I had such a reaction was back in my secondary years.
We had our math papers back and everyone was going around the class comparing marks, because you know, we're Asians.

Anyway, I had this sudden looming feeling of impending doom so I turned to Sharon and went, "Something bad's going to happen."

THEN the lights went off due to a power failure.
I think Sharon freaked out a little because she went, "Omigawd! Omigawd! Omigawd!!"
If that's not freaking out, then I'm not sure what to call it.


Okay, in both cases, it wasn't the end of the world or anything.
Yeah, well, you'd better be glad that they weren't. *shakes fist at your ungrateful face*


Now that I think of it, it's probably a good thing that I can't really predict misfortunes.
I'd either have no friends or have crazy people as friends.
If you're crazy, you attract crazy people, it's that simple.


But then, if I had such a power, I could probably harness it one way or another and rule the world . . .

OR

Be part of awesomous HEROES :D
yes, 'awesomous' is not a word and no i will not correct it. Say it! It's catchy!!

Suicidal?

Feeling suicidal?
Then I'll recommend this.. it beats any method of suicide :)























Someone sent me this picture ages ago and I finally found it again!