Decembers are ♥

Excellent latte from my favourite cafe!!















Once again, it's my absolute fave month of the year: December! Birthdays, shopping, gifts, parties, good food and best of all.... festive slacking!- something which I haven't gotten a chance to do since I started working 2 years ago (esp. last year...the memories of how horrible the festive season was still haunts me).

Anyhow, I'm just looking forward to enjoying these 2 weeks before work & school starts again. Really really dread becoming a penniless mugger once again for the next 2-3 years, especially since I really enjoy my current job (the teaching, the kids & the colleagues) and the fact that my earnings allow me to spend freely. I'm not a spendthrift person but you know, when you aren't earning your own keep, you have to fret over how to spend your miserable monthly budget in the best way, think thrice about shopping for knick knacks, splurging on good food and most importantly, traveling during holidays! SIGHS. That's the down side of going back to school after tasting working life but I guess the fruits of my labour will eventually outweigh the downsides...I hope.

For now, it's back to enjoying the lazy & quiet break with stuff like sleeping (I need to lay down ALOT recently because of this bad back problem), watching good old x'mas movies like Eloise, MUppets Christmas Carol etc. and changing the look of my nails every other week..or every other day, especially when I get some inspiration and think of something nice. But right now, it's sparkle and all because it's DECEMBER!

I named this "Stars fall on the dark lake"



















And this..."Strawberry icicles"



















And lastly, "Black forest glaze"

Food posts

Aching neck, thighs, throat etc. Dead beat from the crazy roller coaster riders @ USS yesterday. Below is a collection of yummy food I've had in the recent 2 months:

Laduree macaroons (frm Tokyo) & superb cheese toast (Kyoto)





























And continuing the Japanese gourmet journey back home, Nabeyaki Udon, Hiyashi Chuka:




























Crab meat & roe rice and Cream puffs frm Hokkaido:





























And my all-time fave, Dimsum breakfast:

Loves..

Today is a day to remember. I'll probably mark it down on every organizer that I have. So many good things happening all at once, before I can even register my good fortune. Hopefully things stay this way and not turn into some calm before the storm. And to think that I was actually soo down in the dumps & worrying about so many things just a few days ago..

Rabbits flying...

I've had my little boy for close to a decade now ♥

Feeling nothing

Break's ended, work's started again, so far so good. Trip was actually pretty good, except I developed a nasty flu on the second night which worsened all the way till I came back, went to see a doc, got antibiotics & 2 days medical leave frm work (yes!). Plus, we got caught in the middle of one of Japan's worst typhoons in years, during our stay in Kyoto, which stole the clear blue sky & warmth away from us (a huge pity since the picturesque hills, forests & serene temples would have looked even more stunning in good weather). Oh wells.

Tokyo is just like any major capital city; worse than European ones actually since there isn't anything significantly unique or stunning to see (but way above in terms of hygiene and service- well, everyone probably already knows that by now) so it's no mind-boggling matter that we took a day trip out to Mt Fuji & lake district area for sightseeing. An awesome choice because Lake Kawaguchi is amazing, and it's only 1 out of 5-6 lakes surrounding Mt Fuji. Cycling around the lake for hours while soaking up the warmth & gentle breeze (but cold air in the evening) on an empty stomach and non-stop coughing due to the flu was quite an experience. Sigh. Traveling to wonderful places while on long breaks are such a joy and precious to me. I really do enjoy traveling, even though I'm not a really that great a traveler since I tend to always develop some ailment (nausea, migraine, constipation etc.) or fall ill but who cares. These are experiences in a lifetime and a great way to escape the claustrophobic, senseless, dull, monotonous and fast-changing-till-I-can-hardly-recognize-city-because-of-the-non-stop-invasion-of-foreigners place which I call home. If I wasn't such a creature of comfort and had a family here, I probably would have left for some other country. Or if I could afford taking a few years off to live & study somewhere else.

Macs

I'm usually not a big fan of sweets but I adore good macarons (and lemon meringue tarts). Hence, was short of gobbling down the whole box of macarons my bro bought back frm Paris. I have to say that Ladurée makes really good macs - swell of interesting flavours like green apple, black pepper, turkish delight etc. which are not cloyingly sweet and artificial-tasting (unlike many of those found locally) and I can really taste tiny nutty pieces with every bite!

Recent 'pennings.

Work's been busy busy busy and increasingly challenging because of a certain difficult student in class. I've been feeling so drained, mentally and physically these 2 weeks, esp. late last wk and beginning of this wk. Hopefully things will go uphill from here and not spiral further down into the pits.

Dinner tonight @ raindrops with me besties; above average food and beer.

















































Super peking duck 2 weeks ago..quack!










Time to head to bed. I've been going to bed earlier and earlier esp. during the weekdays - slept at 8.30pm last night and woke up at 6plus this morning (my usual waking up time). Though still feel tired despite my ample rest. Sigh. I don't know why I always feel so tired and get lethargic so easily. Is it 'cause of my poor blood circulation or what?