Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Poll

Post dated ..... please scroll down for lastest post.


Ok, so far Yuchien has told me to get it later and Tom told me to get it ....... I'm just curious about what the rest of u guys/gals think :)

Voting is anonymous and you will only be allowed to vote once.

For those who have no idea what I am talking about, read this first.

Updates:

Aug 25 12:05am
Ok, Got my first vote telling me to wait ...... wonder who it is ...... now I wish it wasn't anonymous. I don't like u ..... j/k :)

Aug 25 1:09pm
WHAT?!?! Not get it? That is just mean!

Aug 26 11:00pm
No more votes? Come on .... I'm pretty sure there are more readers out there. Or am I wrong? :(

Aug 28 4:10pm
Woohoo! 3 say get it now! :)

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

My name is Serena and I am addicted to ......

ChapStick!!!!!


Went out to dinner with Tom, Liz, Dan and Mary. We went to Oodles of Noodles where they have their wonderful buffett ..... no chicken feet tonite though :) Anyways, after dinner, while enjoying the fresh air outside ;) , we were talking about the new rule while flying and how strict they were. Elyse had to smuggle some chapstick on board, however, I think that solid lipstick is allowed .... I might be wrong.

Anyway, I was telling them how I was addicted to chapstick and I can't live without it. I told them I prob had 8 and sure enough, I came home, searched through all my bags, coats, pants, on my keyboard, nightstand, etc and found EIGHT! Count them, 8! LOL, I really know my chapsticks :) However, there is still always that one day that I would step out of the house and find out that I do not have a tube anywhere, that is when panic starts seeping in.

Btw, I only like the ChapStick brand lip balm and they must be fruit flavored. I tried other brands but they just felt different, not as balmy :)

Monday, August 28, 2006

Food, food and more food!

Today was a busy day ...... went out for lunch with Suzette, Hannah, Jeff and Yuchien. I was the first one to arrive (prob 'cause I was paranoid that I would be late again). Everyone else was late ..... Jeff and Yuchien were kitty buying! Anyway, everyone finally arrived and we had a pretty good lunch. Hannah was really talkative and it was fun picking on her :)

After lunch, I went over to the mall and did some shopping ..... spend way too much $ again. However, my excuse was that there was a jean sale on .... buy 1 get 20% off, buy 2 get 25% off, buy 3 or more get 30% off ..... so of 'cos I had to get 3 :P Moreover, I was happy that I was able to fit into a smaller size ... they were a tad snug but they are stretchable and I WILL lose more weight!

Later, I met up with Nikki, Bryan, Nate, Elyse and Helena for dinner down at the Olive Garden. I had the Tuscany Roasted Garlic which was really good, they actually had whole roasted garlic in it. Unfortunately I had no one to kiss, so the garlic was no problem for me.

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Here's Nikki and I
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Elyse, Me and Helena
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Here's Nate .... he has grown so much and he talks a lot too!
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Here's me with the Polstons.
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After dinner, Elyse, Helena and I ended up spending more than an hr chatting in the parking lot .... we were talking about boys, sex and how Helena should consider dying her hair brown :) We are giving her 2 mths to think about it ..... wonder what her decision would be .....

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Because of the late nite chatting with my sis online, I overslept this morning. Thank god I was supposed to pick up Karen and she called me at 9:50am, waking me up. I was supposed to pick her up at 9:40am and be at work at 10am. Oops ...... I have not been late to catering in a while. I used to get wake up calls from Yuchien after being late but it stopped after I started being punctual. Guess I should not be up that late if I have to be at work in the morning. However, I have been such a lazy butt lately, staying up late, waking up late ...... well, we made it in at 10:30am, so it wasn't too bad.

Have to be up early again tomorrow. This time it will be at 11.30am, I will be meeting Suzette, Yuchien and Jeff for lunch at this place called the Mexican Grill ...... better head to bed and set my alarm! Later in the evening, I will be meeting up with Tom and he is going to let me drive his car! :) After which, a bunch of us will be heading to the Olive Garden for dinner.

I know, I'm one busy gal ...... and after these 2 outings, I'm going to be a fatter gal too .... groan.......

Saturday, August 26, 2006

Call my sister today and everyone was there, including my bro who went over to drop off gifts that he bought during his trip to the US. OMG, it was so noisy! Everyone was talking and there were a couple of times when I had to just tell them to shut it! I told my sis that they were all giving me a headache. My bro was making some weird noise in the background as I was talking to my sis. At one point, I was talking to my mom and then she started yelling to someone else in the background but she did not realize that she was also yelling through the phone. GROAN! Could not believe that my family is able to drive me nuts even across the ocean.

Friday, August 25, 2006

I'm an 80s gal ......

Ok, I LOVE the 80s and in case anyone out there didn't know, I am a HUGE Deborah a.k.a Debbie Gibson fan. Hey, stop the snickering! I have all of her albums included the japan realeases that have bonus tracks, a few of her singles, calendars, her Electric Youth perfume (yes, there was such an item), the list just goes on. I have spent a small fortune on her but it probably isn't worth much now.

Yes, I was one of the first people to purchase the Playboy issue that she was in too .....

Anyway, the whole point of this post is a blatant promotion of her latest single which I really like ..... some might say I'm just being bias but whatever! :) I'm sure those who grew up in the 80s would also remember NKOTB ..... New Kids on the Block ..... Jordan Knight? Well, Debs and him did a duet together and here it is .....



Fine .... she might never make a real comeback, but I think she has done pretty well on Broadway and doing musicals. She has done Les Miz, Beauty & the Beast, Cinderella (I saw it!), Cabaret, Grease, Chicago, Gypsy, etc.

I'm now listening to first album ..... Out of the Blue ..... I don't think I would ever tire of her voice ..... I really want to meet her again, met her twice, once in Spore when I won a contest ... lol .... and the other time was after the Cinderella show. I was one of the groupies that waited for her after the show. I have most of my albums signed and have a pic of me and her together somewhere ...... Hey, my brother has one too!

My only regret is that I never went to her concert when she was still the pop princess ..... I was young and didn't have the $ :(

Thursday, August 24, 2006


I need to stop shopping!!! I want to splurge on this Tiffany's necklace which I know I shouldn't but yet I want it so bad! I have the bracelet and I want the necklace to match! However, I made another Coach purchase not too recently and so I really should not be spending anymore $. However, it is not stopping me from drooling at it on the website, or searching for the closest Tiffany's store .... only about 1hr 20mins away ....., or trying to justify it by telling myself that I would saving $ buying it here than buying it in S'pore.

No, Serena, STOP it!

It's so pretty ............. *sob* ........ can see but can't touch :(

Went out with lunch with my Grandma Dorothy today. Have not seen her in a while and it was nice to sit down and just chat. I went over to her place and then we headed to Applebees. She treated me to a buger, fries and dessert! I had the sizzling apple pie which came with a scoop of ice-cream. Dorothy had the chocolate cake with ice-cream. I know, it's kinda weird that I did not pick the chocolate, but I was in the mood for some warm apple pie. It was pretty good ...... I think I have put back all the weight I have lost. Haha, ok, some weight, not all.

After lunch, we headed back to her place and we sat in her sun porch where we talked. She told me about her family and the days when she was working at MSU. I really enjoyed working with her at Owen and it was nice to meet up with her again. She always remembers to send me a card on Xmas and my birthday ..... can't say the same for me .... terrible, terrible Serena!

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Went to the Armada County Fair last Thur and Fri. It is where the 4H show off their animals and crafts. They also have rides, food and games. I had a fun time with the Scheffler family and all the kids.

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Here's Evan with his duck.

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Here's Ben, Evan with a chicken, Gillian and Christine.

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Here's Gillian with her pig.

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Here's Gillian....

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Christine, Tessie, Gillian, Ben and Evan.

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The Senyks ..... Jill, Megan and Gary. The goats are Megan's ... their names are Sid and Oscar. One of them won best in the goat category.
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All the animals seen belonged to the Senyks. The bought them when they were young, raise them and them either sell them or eat them. The goats were auctioned off. The auction was pretty fun to watch, it was my first live auction .....

Monday, August 21, 2006

Just got back from a test drive and OMG, the guy was annoying! He was trying to tell me what my car was worth on Kelly Blue Book. Excuse me, but I know what I saw on the website and what it says my car is worth. He didn't put on the features that my car has, so of course it would be listed cheaper. The cd player that I have in the car raises the price a couple of hundred but he was like .... I don't use the cd player, I just drive it to sch. Umm, so what do u want me to do? Remove it? Sell the car to u but u are not allowed to use the cd player ever? U are buying the car with the damn cd player, u are going to have to pay me for it even if u don't use it. DUH!

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Stupid weight is so hard to lose ..... ARGH! I need to lose more weight in this 2 weeks ..... I am not in the mood to hear ppl say "你胖了!" I absolutely hate it even though there is truth in it ...... I don't need ppl pointing out the obvious. I hate it when I was young and I still hate it.

Called my mom and she kept telling me the things she will be cooking and places she wants to bring me to eat. ARGH!!! She is also going to be the first one to point out I have put on weight. I don't get it what is going on in her mind most of the time. Unfortunately, almost everyone of us in the family has the fat gene except my little sister ....... I guess the 12 years difference caused it to disappear? I have remembered a few times when relatives will ask my sis to eat more but I'm thinking ... why? so that if she gains weight, u guys can then make fun of her? I have gone through that and I don't want anyone to have to go through it. Ppl can be so cruel .......

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

It is 4am in the morning and I am still wide awake. Can't sleep, don't know why. My stomach is growling but this is definately not the time to eat. Tried to go to bed a few times but I just ended up tossing and turning in bed. I gave up, so I got up and decided to play around on my computer. The tv is on and I'm watching Back to the Future II while typing. I had just watched it about 3hrs ago and it is showing again. Boring ..... but there is nothing else to watch, only stupid infomercials.

It would prob be awhile b4 I fall asleep ...... what can I do? The last time I could not sleep, I ended up shopping online and spending a shit load of money. Don't want to do that again, 'cos I can't afford it.

Looking around my room ....... it's a mess ...... I have been packing and throwing away stuff. I could do some clearing up but I am not in the mood. Should prob throw more stuff away but I think I have some of my dad's genes ...... the one that keeps stupid crap .....

Saturday, August 12, 2006

Went out for a late lunch with Nikki and Bryan today. We went to Champps at the Eastwood Town Center. Have not seen both of them since the trip to Vegas and it was nice to sit down and catch up. Nikki told me the exciting news about her being pregnant, but unfortunately I had found out about it already. I was prepared to act all surprised but she also knew that I knew ....... lol, it was a secret gone wrong :)

After lunch, I went and got some shopping done and that was my day! :P

Thursday, August 10, 2006

a broken soul


the pain within seems an eternity,
the tears seem to know no end,
the future seems like a dark abyss.

anger to the ones that wrenched my heart,
sadness to the ones that I've caused sorrow,
fear to the ones that are left behind wondering why.

I want the grief to disappear,
I want the agony erased,
I want the bitterness forgiven.

the wall built is too high to climb,
the subborness is ever present,
the way out is but an illusion.

an endless list of questions that might never be answered,
a life of lonliness that might never cease,
a heart full of love that might never be explored.

Monday, August 7, 2006

Eggplant Parmesan aka Brinjal Parmesan

My roomie had it in his mind to make Eggplant Parmesan, he bought all the ingredients and so today we got together to do a little cooking.

I started off peeling the eggplant and slicing them about 1/4 inch slices, tossed them in salt, set it aside for 30-45 mins to draw the water out.

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I then patted them dry. Gaetano was responsible for coating them in a mixture of flour and pepper, then dip them in an egg bath and then coat it in a mixture of breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese and oregano.

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I painstakenly fried every single piece ..... it took forever! I wanted to bake them in the oven but Gaetano said to fry them ...... eeww, all the grease, but they tasted so good.

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I laid them aside while I was frying more of them. Looks like chicken!

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Some olive oil, garlic, couple of cans of diced tomatoes and a can of tomato sauce, reduced till it thickens a little.

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Layered tomato sauce, eggplant, cheese ... repeat. Top with cheese, the leftover breadcrumbs and some olive oil.

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After about 20 mins in a 400 degree oven .... then turn on the broiler to brown the cheese.

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The pretty layers!

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It tasted really good ... we did a great job! :)

I still don't think I would like eggplant the way my mom cooks it .... she would just stir fry them with egg and oyster sauce. It just makes it all mushy and the taste of eggplant is very prominent. Eggplant Parmesan is more like a lagsana :)

Saturday, August 5, 2006

Happy Graduation/Birthday to Cassie!

We went to a park where we celebrated Cassie's graduation and birthday. There were tons of food and we ate a lot.

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Cassie with her Cherry Chip cake. We tried to light the candles but it was too windy.

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Blowing the imaginary fire out :)

---Here she is opening my present!

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I got her the second set of the Moosetivity series. On the left is one of the kings, then the shepherd and the drummer boy.

Most of Cassie's gifts were moose related .... yes, she is obsess with mooses (or meese ..... lol). I got her the first set of Moosetivity last year. There are two more in the series.

She will be leaving early Sun and I am going to miss her terribly :( It will prob in a long long time b4 I get to see her again as she lives so very far away.

Counting down to Feb 2008 ......

Wednesday, August 2, 2006

Today was a long day, it started at 11am .... went shopping with Cassie at Birch Run. We did not go to many of the stores 'cos we both know what we like :)

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This was what I got at the COACH store ..... another addition to my keychain, it opens up and u can put 2 little pics in it. It matches my bag! The scarf is long rectangular and can be used as a belt, neck or head scarf. I was carry my brand new bag and I got compliments from many ppl, even those who work at the store. I love the attention ;)
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After shopping, Cassie and I made our way to Frankenmuth for an early dinner.
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We then headed to Bronners, which is the largest Xmas store in the world. It really felt like Xmas over there ..... however, the moment u step outside the store, u get hit by reality ... it was 98 degrees!! (hey, that a band!)



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By the time we came back to town it was 6.30pm. We made our way to the Lansing Mall to get our pedicures. There were 4 of us all together, plus a baby.

Here's the designs that we got for our toes. I think that they do a really good job at that salon. Yes ..... I have the most toe surface area ....
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Here's Cassie, Debbie and her baby.
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Cassie and the baby ..... I forgot his name .......
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After we got done with our nails, we went to pick up Lindsey and went to get ice cream! By the time we got done and I dropped Cassie off, it was already 10pm. I had spent almost 11hrs NOT being a bum ... hard to imagine that it is possible! :)

Tuesday, August 1, 2006

My friend Cassie is back from Alaska for a short vacation. Today we hung out for a few hrs at the mall with her friend Debbie and Debbie's 3 week old baby boy. He is a really cute baby. Today was hot and humid, so it was nice to be in an airconditioned place.

Tomorrow we will be making our way down to the outlet mall in Birch Run ...... COACH! :) And after that, we are thinking of going to Frankenmuth for the chicken dinner. We are also planning to all (Cassie, Debbie and I) get pedicures after we make it back into town.

It's going to be a very busy day .......