The Wild Plains

When I arrived on this dry, seemingly desolate landscape, I thought the only thing that could survive out here, were a few cacti. But, being a naturally curious person, I’ve been out exploring, getting to know my new environment and taking a closer look at my surroundings.

I couldn’t believe it when I saw that these red ants had built a bridge over their little entrance way. They were carrying what looked like salt crystals out of their chambers and dropping them away from the entrance.

From a distance this cactus might’ve seemed like a sight for sore eyes but on closer inspection, it had these bright yellow buds that kind of resembled bunches of bananas and the new shoots were this pretty pink color.

The dry and thirsty landscape was blessed with a couple of days of rain, and with the rain came some creatures I hadn’t expected to see out here.

My cat, Sausage found this baby frog, who was only the size of a gumball. I could see that its little heart was pounding nearly out of his chest! Poor little fella.

These little frogs like to hang out on the  window sills. We counted 20 on one window sill!!
I may have shreaked when I saw this Salamander scuttling across the tiles in house. I chased it out of the house, but not before I quickly took its picture!

The neighbors keep their horses on our property since they don’t have enough land themselves. They’re looking a bit skinny so we fed them some of our hay.

I had so much fun driving my father in laws big old red truck through the pasture the other day! I could get used to this country life.

We dropped off some hay bales for the cows and an old rusty tub (used for a feeder) caught my eye. I started snapping photos of it and was about to step in closer to get a better angle. But, thank goodness I saw the snake that was sitting in the shade of the tub!!! It was curled up but from what we could tell, it had to be about 4 feet long! Thankfully it was a Bull snake and not a rattle snake! From the picture it looks like I might’ve been foolishly close to the snake but, trust me, I was terrified of being bitten so you bet I used the zoom on our camera!

 I haven’t been able to be quick enough to take photos of the rabbits and prairie dogs on the property, and the owls and hawks are always just too far away for my camera to get a good shot of. It seems like I get to see a different animal each day out here! This place is teaming with life! I just had to take a closer look.

Happy Mother’s Day

^^^ My mum made that little bikini I was wearing ^^^
Happy mother’s day, my beautiful mother.
May I be as selfless, as strong willed, as giving, as talented in everything you put your hands to, as successful in multi-tasking as you are, when I become a mother one day.
And to all the other mother’s and mother’s to be out there, I hope your day is filled with love and you feel the appreciation that you so rightly deserve. Also, might I add that I was one hideous child – only a mother could love, right? Ha!

Settling In

^^^ Sausage, otherwise known as  Saus, Sausy-mama or Sa-ma ^^^

^^^ Turtle, otherwise known as Turts, Tortuah, or Turtle-bear ^^^

^^^ Farm fresh eggs. You know they’re fresh if they still have feathers stuck on them! ^^^

^^^ Danny’s homemade pineapple cream pie ^^^

^^^ Homemade pork and green onion dumplings!! ^^^

^^^ Bacon mustache? ^^^
^^^ The carne asada taco was amazing! The fish taco? Not so much. ^^^

It’s been a little over a week since we landed in Colorado and I’ve been settling in nicely into my new environment. The first thing I wanted to do once we got to the house was to cuddle my cats. I missed those furballs so much!! We’re living in Danny’s parents’ basement while we look for a house. So, in the meanwhile, we’ve been working this week to make the basement a bit more homely and less like a basement? That involved, Danny and his dad hanging some drywall and plastering, and Danny and I painting our room.  Other than our D.I.Y projects, we’ve been cooking some pretty delicious food here. We had Danny’s uncle, aunt and cousins over for dinner and we tried making dumplings for the first time. The entire meal of curry, Chinese eggplant, stir-fried bok choy, and pork dumplings was devoured. So, that was probably a sign that everyone thought our food was pretty delicious! Since then, we’ve made dumplings another time with beef and onion. But, I can’t decide which I prefer because both kinds were so good! We’ve also been busy baking in the kitchen! Well, Danny is the expert baker and I’m the expert helper. We made a chocolate chiffon cake with sea-foam frosting. And I have to say if you were like me and hadn’t heard of sea-foam frosting, you must try it! It’s like having a super light and sticky layer of marshmallow on your cake. Just amazing. We also made a pineapple cream pie the other night, which I must get a slice of once I finish writing this.  We’ve been baking these egg based desserts  because a family friend gives us dozens of their farm fresh eggs each week that we can’t keep up with consuming! Just one of the great things I’ve found about living here so far! I’ve also been getting acquainted with the local cuisine. Danny’s taken me to their family’s favorite diner for breakfast and we discovered Monica’s Taco Shop, together (which could give Chipotle and Taco Bell a run for their money!). You can get two big burritos with rice and beans for $6.40!! Now that’s my kind of eating out! It made such a good impression that we were back again today, this time we took the whole family with us. It’s a new family favorite I think!

There is just so much to see and do here and I can’t wait to show you some of the things I’ve come across on the family farm!

America – Day 3 (and a half)

On our third day in S.F, we woke up before the crack of dawn so we could capture the Golden Gate bridge in the morning light. I must say that she looked absolutely dreamy in the early morning mist.
^^^ Did you know that wild strawberries grow along this beach!? ^^^

^^^ Yup! That’s me, scarfing down a Bear Claw for breakfast! So attractive, i know! ^^^

^^^ A really crappy picture of the sea-lions at the dock. ^^^

We walked onto a dock by the bridge where a couple of sea-lions were catching their breakfast. We couldn’t get a very good picture though! I think it is so freakin’ cool that sea-lions are wild in San Francisco!

We then walked to the Palace of Fine Arts. It is a stunning piece of architecture and you must absolutely go visit it and experience its enormity! I stood under the pillars and arches, just in awe of its beauty.

^^^ I was just an ant, at the Palace of Fine Arts ^^^

^^^ A stroll through Chinatown, during the day was definitely less spooky. ^^^

^^^ Wind blowing in every direction on the ferry ride to Alcatraz. ^^^

Of course we did the touristy thing and went to Alcatraz. It was so cold and windy on the ride over! And I was even wearing a sweater and jeans. Little did I know that it was just a small taste of the miserable conditions on the island.

^^^ It was nesting season on the island ^^^
These two love birds were singing sweet nothings to each other.

^^^ In the library ^^^
You can see how damp it is in there but it was the warmest room in the prison!

^^^ Prisoner’s were given 2 packs of cigarette’s a week,
regardless if they were smokers or not ^^^

Alcatraz was eerie and unbelievably cold (considering it was even early May)! I can only imagine how terribly miserable it would’ve been to be imprisoned there and to know downtown S.F was only a mile away! We went through the prison with headphones that played a recording of past inmates telling their stories of their time on Alcatraz. It was an interesting afternoon but I couldn’t wait to get off the island!

^^^ View from the top of the World’s “crookedest street ” ^^^

^^^ Only half of this meal was consumed ^^^

We had vegetarian Greek food for dinner and only managed to eat half of what we ordered. The portions were ridiculously generous!

^^^ Brunch at the Crepery on our last day ^^^

We slept in on our last day and had deliciously light crepes for brunch. Having crepes is the best excuse for eating ice-cream in the morning!

^^^ I loved their teapot collection! ^^^

It was nice to have a relaxing morning after all the exploring we crammed in on the previous days. San Francisco was wonderful and we hope to visit again, really soon!

America – Day 2

^^^ We could hear the power lines buzzing and sparking! ^^^

We started our second day off with a hearty (unfortunately overpriced) breakfast at a diner down the road from our hotel. I have to get used to remembering that you must tip here!

^^^ Pretending that I live in this beautiful apartment building. ^^^

^^^ Enormous overflowing flower baskets hanging on lamp posts! ^^^

^^^ I wish we got some sunglasses because our eyeballs got fried that day. ^^^

^^^ At the arcade museum. ^^^

We made our way to Fisherman’s Wharf, where we looked around at the vintage arcade museum. Some of the machines there are older than you and I will ever be and I can’t believe they’re still working! It was amazing to see the craftsmanship and care taken in making the figurines in the machines. Most of them had solemn expressions, and looked kind of sad and lonely.

There was an old photo-booth that we jumped into, closed the curtain and snapped pictures of ourselves with our camera in. I’ll admit it takes the novelty out of it, but we had so much fun! I made the photos black and white in photoshop and cropped them together. It has the same nostalgic effect, don’t you think? I like the way it turned out so much that I might even frame it! I don’t recommend you do this all the time, but maybe just once

^^^ Resident sea-lions at Pier 33 ^^^

^^^ The mushroom stall at the Ferry Building was our favorite to look at. ^^^

We took a slow stroll all the way down to the Ferry Building, taking in the sights and sounds. We watched the sluggish sea-lions sunbathing on Pier 33, dodged the phonies asking for “donations”, and moved out of the way of the many spandex clad locals who for some reason decided it was a good idea to run in the sweltering midday sun.

^^^ Cold drinks and a stellar view at Pier 23 Cafe. ^^^

After tiring ourselves out from walking, we decided to have lunch at Pier 23, where we were lucky enough to get one of the last 3  Dungeness Crabs the restaurant had that day! We normally wouldn’t dine at such a pricey place but we felt it was worth it for every finger licking morsel of juicy crab. Plus, we were on vacation and wanted to enjoy ourselves. We sat on the deck, overlooking the water and sipped on our ice cold drinks. It was wonderful and I felt the happiest to be sharing that moment with no one else but my husband.

^^^ This little lady bug found her way onto Danny’s sleeve ^^^

^^^ Delicious Dungeness Crab for lunch ^^^

^^^ Spooky back alley in Chinatown ^^^

After relaxing for way too long at Pier 23, we realized how sunburnt we had gotten and dragged our hot and tender selves back to town. When the sun goes down in S.F, it gets really cold but it was kind of soothing for our sunburns. That evening we wandered through Chinatown. The atmosphere down there was kind of spooky at night.

^^^ That’s President Clinton having a taste of the goods, on the bottom left. ^^^

^^^ Poor bat and turtle ^^^

^^^ I would wear one of these cat / dog rings on each finger. ^^^

^^^ Balachan Eggplant and Cha Kueh Teow, for dinner in Chinatown. ^^^

As the light grew darker, the shops in the touristy part closed up and the lights of the restaurants down the side roads acted as beacons for our stomachs. It was late but we found a Malaysian restaurant still open. They had some of our favourite dishes on their menu, so it was kind of like a taste of home.

 I think we got heat stroke that day, because we were so very exhausted and slept like babies that night

I hope you aren’t tired of S.F photos yet because I’ve got one more post lined up of our adventures. You can check out our first day HERE if you missed it.

America – Day 1

Well, we landed in America in one piece! We decided to spend a few days in San Francisco via L.A.X. before heading to Colorado. Since we never got a chance to get away for a honeymoon, it was the perfect opportunity to take a vacation before taking on the responsibilities of our move to CO. Going through immigration at L.A.X was pretty breezy actually. Some fingerprints were taken and a few signatures signed here and there and then I was good to go. 24 fun hours of flying and lay-overs later, we found ourselves in S.F.

We took a ton of photo’s, and I don’t want to dump all of them here at once, so I’m going to split the days into separate posts. There aren’t any flattering photo’s of me – most are of me squinting since it was fiercely bright and sunny the whole time. They weren’t joking when they named California the sunshine state. I’m still on the look-out for a nice pair of sunglasses, and my burnt nose and cheeks say I NEED to wear sunscreen, apparently.

On our first day, we checked into our hotel and explored down town, in search for lunch. Every direction I looked, there was something to be inspired by. It could’ve been the pretty cherry blossoms, a charming doorway, the array of pastel colors down a street, the street art, or the swag of the locals (especially the more interesting homeless characters). I have to point out that people in S.F love dogs! There were all kinds of dogs, from Chihuahua’s to Great Danes, being walked and that meant that the scent of dog poop was not left unnoticed. It was forgiven though, as the beauty of the place made up for it.
^^^ Best California Roll, ever (Danny thought so, too). ^^^

^^^ This guy caught my eye. Maybe it was his Hello Kitty back pack. ^^^

^^^ One visit to Bob’s Donuts was not enough. 3 times the charm ^^^
We were’nt adventurous enough to get one of those ridiculous giant donuts though!

^^^ The pretty flowers that surrounded the Oracle Centre  ^^^

^^^ Letting off explosions in the stadium. The crowd went nuts! ^^^

^^^ Got to love the cheap seats ^^^

In the evening we went to an NBA Playoffs game – Golden State Warriors vs Denver Nuggets. Everyone got a free Warrior supporter t-shirt that was laid out on each seat. We were probably the only Nuggets supporters there and we didn’t want to stick out like sore thumbs, so we shamefully put the Warriors t-shirts on and cheered quietly in our hearts whenever the Nuggets scored. The energy in the stadium was intense! People were almost primal – hitting their bam bam sticks together, chugging down beers and howling.  I had never been to a big sporting event like that before. It was such a fun experience even though the Nuggets lost. Maybe they would’ve won if we didn’t wear the opponents shirts!

Stay tuned for more of our San Francisco adventures!!

leaving home

It finally arrived. All the months and months of anxiety, the stress, the waiting for an answer was over when I opened this up in the mail. I thought I’d be jumping up and down with excitement but I’ve  actually been overwhelmed by it all. I keep asking myself if this is for real? Can it truly be!? I can’t quite believe that I finally have my visa in my hands and I’m officially allowed to live in America, permanently. We leave one week from today and I’m  a mixed bag of emotions. I’m excited to be starting this new chapter of our lives but I’m also terrified of the uncertainties. I’m sad to be leaving this home but I’m happy to be making a new home together in Colorado. I’ve immigrated overseas before. When I was just starting school, my parents moved us to New Zealand from Malaysia for a better education and a better life. Now I’m taking the big leap to another country with the best in mind for our little family and even though this is such an adult thing to do, why do I still feel like a kid?

it’s been a while

Hello there! How’ve you been?! I apologize to you, lovely readers for being all mysterious, and disappearing for an entire month. Life has been crazy-hectic lately (whose isn’t?) and I had to put blogging on the back burner for a while. I’m relieved to say though, that the mountain of stuff that needed to get done this month is finally dwindling and I can finally begin to function like a normal, calm person again.

Do you remember that guy I talked about, quite a lot on here? Well, after four months of being separated by the Pacific Ocean, my husband is back home! I’ve been in heaven all week! The past four months were the toughest for us and I tip my hat to those of you who are separated from your partners for even longer periods. You have my respect.

Here are some snippets from the little picnic we went on the other day. I packed some delicious vege wraps and fruits for our lunch, and we found an empty (overgrown) field at the very edge of suburbia to lay down in. I was exhausted that day and wasn’t in the mood to take pictures but I made myself ‘click’ that camera anyway. The wraps were beautiful but kept un-wrapping when I wanted to take a nice photo of them and Danny was so hungry that he ate one before I got a chance to take the picture! So I gave up, and just took a picture of the last two, upside-down. What do you do when you’re torn between enjoying the moment and wanting to capture it all on camera? That’s why I admire those blogs that can portray those special moments so beautifully. I am definitely still learning how to do this blogging thing.

We packed up our picnic and headed home, after this rain cloud shadowed all the blissful warm rays of the autumn sun. I hope you’re having a relaxing weekend and are lucky enough to spend time with loved ones and maybe some sunshine.

Stay with me till I go

I came across this lovely little film from freepeople this afternoon.

I’m feeling melancholic.
It’s been the driest summer we’ve had in sixty years, and today, it is raining.
And, god, I miss my husband.

Five on Friday

5 things that I didn’t like at first:

1. Self portraits. I used to think, taking self portraits was a vain thing to do. To some point they are self indulgent and contrived, but I think it really depends on the intent behind them. I realized, while I was trying to find a current photo to change my profile picture (on the right) from an illustration to a real image, that I basically had no recent photos of me. It made me sad that I had such a bleak visual record of my past few years. It’s made me feel differently about self portraits. Instead of hiding my face from the camera, I’ll let the camera capture me because I don’t want to forget what I was like at that moment. The self portrait above is at least 3 years old.

2. Joanna Newsom. She is one of my favorite musicians but, to be honest, I kind of winced when I first heard her sing. I’m sorry, Joanna! It just goes to show that first impressions don’t always last. She is one exceptionally beautiful, talented lady and I feel lucky that we got to see her perform last year. It was an enchanting evening.

3. Tomatoes. I could not stand them when I was little. I’d literally gag if I’d bite into a sandwich and one of those suckers touched my tongue. Today, tomatoes and I have a different relationship. They’re pretty much in most of my meals. If I could only eat one vegetable for the rest of my life, it would be cherry tomatoes.

4. Chris Rock. Before actually taking the time to watch a full comedy routine performed by this guy, I had seen him in movies and he annoyed the heck out of me. I just found him really obnoxious. But, then I watched his stand up stuff, then I got him. Once I got past the vulgarity, I realized that man has some decent things to say. Hilarious man, straight up!

5. Coffee. Before college, I couldn’t understand why people would put themselves through drinking the stuff (sometimes more than once a day)! I started drinking it as a way to perk me up for those early morning lectures and now I can hardly get through the day without one. But I’m trying to cut back and drink more green tea.