Saturday, May 24, 2008

Contract Job, Nokia, Wii Fit, Botoli

After one and a half months of going for interviews and rejections, I finally got a job (thank you, God). It's a contract job, a slightly different role involving more accounting work. This would be a good chance for me to learn about accounting. Thanks to Mandy who put some good words (again) for me, it really helped.

So off I went shopping a day before I was supposed to start work, we went to DFO. After my 1st day at work, I realised that the clothes that I bought might be too 'colourful' for the office. People there generally wear darker clothes (maybe because it's winter?) and I have 2 red blouses and 1 black blouse with some shiny diamond-like around the waist. I guess I need to shop some more today.

On the same day, we went to Centro Bankstown to walk around and I got a post-paid phone contract at $29cap and chose N73 as the free phone. Finally I could return the borrowed phone back to my friend's brother, he must have wondered if he'd ever get his phone back hehehe...
But as I still have $62 credit in my pre-paid phone, I am still using the old phone to utilize all the credits before moving to the new number. What was shocking was that apparently I had a bad credit history with 3 as they claimed I didn't pay my last bill. I was trying hard to remember whom I give my 2 sim cards to (Vodafone and 3) before I left Sydney 5 years ago. I would probably need to pay the amount to clear my name but they didn't give any supporting for the amount they quoted me. I'd need to call 3 again one of these days.

On Thursday, I insisted to buy Wii, much to my hubby's frustration, at KMart. My hubby tried to convince me that there's a cheaper one at Toys 'r Us so we went to Paramatta to check it out. And yes, it was cheaper (thanks, hubby) and now we're having fun with Wii console + sports + fit. The only problem is that hubby doesn't get the chance to watch TV much that he's thinking of getting another TV in the living room just for Wii. Surely that is not necessary? But I could see a problem once my PIL are here coz they watch a lot of TV. Oh well, we'll see....

One of my friends who lived within the area invited us for dinner. His wife is from Malaysia and so is my hubby, and I think we're the only 2 in the group who married Malaysians. Anyway, we jokingly noted how the Malaysians are hardworking, both of them (hubby and my friend's wife) cook, clean and manage the house very well. Now, how about their Indonesian spouses? My friend claimed that it's OK with him as he's the husband... hmm, I have nothing to say.

The following day, they brought us to their favourite restaurant in Burwood. The name of the place is Botoli and we have to remember the place as the food was nice (steamed fish, long bean with minced meat sauce, grilled chicken with lime, toufu with tang-fun). Too bad we didn't take any pictures at all. They also recommended an Indonesian food in Maroubra "Mie Kocok" and to order 'Panorama' noodles. Ok, another place to try.

On that night, hubby and I were supposed to join Martha and friends to have dinner at Ratu Sari in Kingsford as I have 25% discount from Entertainment Book. Too bad it was cancelled as Martha and David had a church gathering.

In June, we're joining Jason to go for Good Food and Wine exhibition in Darling Harbour. Not sure what it is all about but as long as it is about Food, we're sold. There is an extra charge if we want to watch Gordon Ramsay but I can't even cook so not interested. But, I think Mom (I call my MIL "Mom" and my mother "Mama") might be interested if she is here around the period. Maybe I should tell her about it to entice her to come here sooner, though I don't think she needs anymore encouragement actually.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Saving money on your shopping

Taken from TodayTonight website and I'm putting it in my blog for future references. Right now, I can't cook but usually I make suggestions of 'healthy' food that we need to buy for our kitchens. So far, we've bought frozen stir-fry vegetables, canned vegetable soups, Original orange juice. Hubby would choose fresh fruits, meat pies, bread, cornflakes and pasta. We've given up on frozen pizza, prefering to order Domino's. We have tried Aldi, although we ended up buying cheap and good junk food :P But looking at the list below, prob we could try spray-on olive oil...

From time to time, we've all been shocked by what we pay at the grocery checkout. Figures suggest 20 per cent of all household expenditure goes on putting food on the table and fill the pantry.


So how can you reduce that amount?


One magazine claims it can do it by $50 a time.
They have come up with 33 money saving tips which are listed below, this information comes from the May 2008 edition of the 'Healthy Food Guide'.

1. PLAN A WEEKLY MENU

2. SHOP WITH A LIST

3. USE SUPERMARKET FLYERS - Grab the discounts and save

4. SHOP AT ALDI - save 10%

5. STOCK YOUR PANTRY - keep a list of essential items (buy these on special)

6. CHOOSE AFFORDABLE RECIPES

7. SNACK SMART - buy treats in packets and create portions for school or work.

8. USE SPRAY ON OIL instead of bottle

9. DRINK HEALTHILY - alternate juice or soft drink with water.

10. GO ALCOHOL FREE - if you skip 2 glasses of wine each week you could save.

11. THINK BULK ON REGULAR PURCHASES - it's cheaper in bulk!

12. KEEP YOUR FRIDGE WORKING FOR YOU - store fruit and veges in bags in crisper and use old first!

13. USE YOUR FREEZER - put extra wine, lemon juice, stock, tomato pastes, in unused icecube containers or packs

14. MAKE THE MOST OF LEFTOVERS - use in stirfries the next night eg

15. FREEZE FRESH HERBS - tear off and freeze in icecubes with water. Not good for salads but great for cooking.

16. IMPROVE STORAGE TECHNIQUES - choose right size, too big lets in air, separate into plastic bags, upturn jars.

17. DATE IT - keep on top what's best, and mark date of produce to save throwing out good or missing food before use-by

18. REVIEW YOUR MENU - replace a meat meal per weak with an egg-based or pulse-based meal - frittatas, salads etc

19. INEXPENSIVE INGREDIENTS - use rice, pasta, potatoes, breads, noodles, seasonal produce and less protein(meat)

20. REVIEW YOUR RECIPES - use cheaper cuts of meat and use seasonal veges in each meal. eg diff chicken cuts

21. ADD LEGUMES - make soups or casseroles go further by adding a tin of chickpeas, kidney beans etc.

22. EXTEND MINCE - add cooked red lentils to meat dishes eg Bolognese = healthier and cheaper!

23. STAY IN SEASON - eg. out of season beans $7 compared to in-season beans $3

24. LEFTOVERS SOUP - at the end of each shopping week, chop up leftover veges and make soup, puree and freeze

25. EXTEND YOURSELF - add extras to leftovers and change the meal - potatoes, mixed veges or tin of beans

26. PASTRY PARCELS - you can make food into pies, or as a topping to food or dessert: tinned apples and cinnamon

27. SAVOURY PANCAKES - turn leftovers into savoury pancake filling! chicken casserole, pasta sauces, veges!

28. CRUMBLE IT - too much fruit? cut up, drizzle with honey and bake in a dish, cover oats/nuts - instant crumble YUM!

29. SHOP ONCE - stops you from impulse buying and saves extra cost later at the corner shop

30. SHOP ONLINE - again it takes away the impulse buying - once you reach your budget you can add or delete. Simple!

31. HAND-PICK YOUR PRODUCE - pick individual items as made-up trays can have nasty surprises. select ripeness too

32. BUY FRESH FOODS WEEKLY AND AVOID WASTE - you'll soon work out how much you eat per week. No waste.

33. USE DISCOUNT CARDS - sign up to store loyalty programs - eg Franklins and Bakers Delight.

BUDGET SAVERS WE LOVE (ACCORDING TO HEALTHY FOOD GUIDE)

Frozen Veges - as good for you as fresh and last longer

Tinned Apples - make a cheap desert with filo pastry

Green vege bags - keep veges fresher longer

Minced Garlic - cheap and simple way to have this healthy ingredient

Red Lentils - Add to soups and casseroles to stretch food longer

Multi Pack Plastic Containers - cook in bulk and save time and money

Grated Parmesan - you can freeze this and pull out when you need it - never goes mouldy

Freezer Bags - buy meat on special and freeze to use when you're ready

Cans of Beans - and fibre, stretch a meal

Bag of Rice - buy in bulk and save. Cook and freeze portions

Filo Pastry - turn leftovers into another meal by wrapping them

Olive Oil Spray - versatile and inexpensive and you'll use less oil

Tinned Tomatoes - bulk up a casserole or soup AND get another serve of veges

Pasta - cheap to buy, goes with almost any leftover and is filling.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Putting on weight, Internet

As feared, I put on 1 kg since I arrived in Sydney a month ago. Not surprised considering we keep eating out, ordering too much, cooking too much and experimenting with all the new foods we find in supermarkets.

This morning, I managed to start walking and jogging with hubby in the park nearby and hopefully we could keep it up. I realised that the sun is out earlier here so by 7am, it's quite bright. So I think we could change our sleeping time, sleep earlier and wake up earlier.

On the employment part, I didn't get the role I was hoping for. A bit disappointed but now I'm really hoping my husband will get a job first. I'm beginning to enjoy this 'housewife' role and don't mind doing it full-time :) I've been hoping to get pregnant soon so i'd have a strong reason, or excuse, to stay at home. Having said that, the prospect of earning more money is too tempting, especially if we want to buy a house in the future.

On the positive side, we'd finally get our own internet connection, using TPG. According to my husband, it's still the cheapest so far and some of our friends are already using it. We couldn't get ADSL2+ for our place so settle for ADSL1, but it's definitely better that the mobile internet from 3 that we borrowed from Martha (thanks, Martha). I guess it's about time we returned it to her, in case she needs it.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Hubby's birthday

I don't really like birthdays in general, especially when it comes to birthdays of pp close to me. Somehow I feel the pressure to 'perform', eg, have to think what gifts to buy (it's a test of how well you know a person), where to celebrate it (got to be some place special), where to get the cake, etc etc.

The good thing is, my hubby is as bad as me when it comes to birthday. I mean, we both just take birthday as another day. We didn't bother to think of what gifts to give, but... we do like to eat so we'll put a slight effort to think of where to eat.

So yesterday, as expected, no birthday gifts. I even forgot to wish him 'Happy birthday' when it's past midnight and we were just about to sleep, he just blurted out "Hey, it's my birthday now". So I snapped out of my semi-conscious state of near-sleep to give him a peck and wishes.

I planned to take him out to have dinner at Hurricane's (ribs) but the place is usually noisy so I was contemplating whether to have it in an Indonesian restaurant that I have 25% off. So I didn't make any reservations at all.

In the afternoon, we went out to meet new friends at a lunch gatherings of Singaporeans in Sydney at a Singapore cafe called "Kopitiam on 228". We had 'kway chaps' but hubby ate their Nonya Laksa (he can't eat pork intestines). It's nice meeting new people, suddenly I was back to Singlish and Mandarin.

After lunch, we walked around at Rhodes mall and I got my hubby to buy 2 winter tops (not too sure what's the right name for it). I thought that he'll need a long sleeve top to cover his hands when he's driving during the day. The sun ray is too painful for the skin, I think. He looked so handsome in the top!!

After that, we went to Hurricane to try our luck. The queue was long but we joined the q after finding a parking spot. We ordered a Full Rack (pork) with mashed potato to share. According to my hubby (who understands Cantonese), the couple (Hongkongers) next table commented that we ordered too little since hubby is big size hehehee... Oh well, I thought the same thing too, but lucky hubby felt he's satisfied. Oh, we met 2 old friends while waiting there too (Vivi and Edward).

When we finished our dinner, we took a walk around Bondi (brrr...it was cold!). When we got back to our car, we got a nasty birthday surprise.... a fine of $79 for not paying for parking. Oh well, we didn't read the sign correctly so we thought it was free parking hehehe...

Friday, May 9, 2008

Foxtel, interview and cooking

We finally got a Foxtel on Thursday. It's mainly for my hubby as he wants to watch his Liverpool games. I find the local TV programmes are sufficient for me, I can't even remember when my favourite shows (Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives) are playing.

But after an interview on Friday morning and while my husband is using the laptop to check internet, I found myself channel-surfing through all the shows in Foxtel, I watched 2 episodes (each) of Will & Grace and SITC. And I kept watching until it is past midnight!

Not sure what happened to me, maybe I need to unwind from the stress of interview (2nd interview, you see), to distract myself from regretting things I said during the interview (I was nervous and talked too much but not really answering the questins) and regretting things that I should've mentioned in the interview. Oh well, all's done and now we can only wait.

I have to thank Amanda (ex-colleague) for putting good words to the interviewer and for all the encouragement and that she and her brother, Jason, have given me so far. As much as I want to get the job, part of me wants to enjoy the 'holiday' mood we are in.. waking up late, going for morning walk, buy paper, read it in the park, watch TV, check internet, shopping, experiment with cooking.

Talking about cooking, I miss my parent-in-law. Yesterday my hubby cooked pasta for us (I can't cook, you see) and it was too much and we ended up eating 2 servings of pasta each. I tried but couldn't finish the 2nd serving and when washing the plates (the only thing I could do in the kitchen), I had the 'jelat' (Singlish) feeling and I waould not eat pasta or any gooey microwave food anytime soon!

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Bargain

I found this website while searching for Wii console, it shows bargains from coffee to electronic stuff.

Entertainemnt Book

I finally got the Entertainment Book 2008/2009 today.

I read about the book from some forum and decided to see what it's like. Apparently, I could only get it from Charities or fund-raising events, so I searched for the charities on the internet. It took me an hour to decide which charities to buy it from, and I almost couldn't decide. Each charity has a noble cause so I decide on Guide Dogs only because the website to purchase the book looked more reliable and easy to use.

I even had used the voucher today, buying milkshakes at Donut King and bought quarter-chicken from Nandos (both on a 1-get-1 deal). I am looking forward to use voucher for Ratu Sari and my friends may plan to try this Indonesian Restaurant in Kingsford. Most probably, I would used up the coffee vouchers by end of the month hehehee.... and I find the vouchers for Nandos, McDonalds, Hungry Jacks, etc, within my budget limit. As for the restaurants, I would need to get a job first before splurging on meals at restaurants.

Another good offer is the $5 off from $100 gift card from Coles. That's is a 5% savings immediately and I would shop at Coles one of these days anyway.

Mouth Ulcers

Ever since I was young, I seemed to be prone to have mouth ulcers. My mum used to give me this bottle of green powder. I find them irritating but didn't really give much thought about it.

I could have as many as 5 ulcers at one time, they could be on my toungue, gum or lips. My ex-colleagues could always guess whenever I have ulcers coz it affected my speech.

I have asked doctors about it but none give me a real cure. I read about it and of all the reasons that could've caused ulcers, I narrowed it down to 3 possible reasons : stress, deficiency of vitamins (iron, B12), food allergies.

It could be due to stress as I remembered that I didn't have any ulcers on the months I was not working (in between jobs). But I didn't feel stressed, I don't think my job was stresfull, unless one could feel stressed without realising it. Having said that, ever since I arrived in Sydney, I got another 3 ulcers.

It could be due to lack of iron. I read somewhere that drinking tea will wash away iron in our body and I drink a lot of tea in a day. My husband thinks I drink too much tea too and asked me to reduce my tea intake. Perhaps I would give it a try to see if the ulcers would go away if I don't drink tea at all. It's also good as my dentist and a few people noted that my teeth is yellowish due to coffee and tea stains.

As for food allergies, I would need to ask for an allergy test with a doctor and I'm too lazy to visit doctors.

My dear friend, Martha, is going to give me Chinese medicine to try and it had cured her hubby's ulcer problem too. It hope it would be a one-time cure without having to continue taking it for too long.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

We're in Sydney :)

We're finally here! We still have not got an internet connection but a friend lend us this Mobile Internet to use (Thanks, Martha)

It's been a few weeks since we got here and so far we managed to get a fully-furnished apartment to live in and a used car to roam about. Now we only need to look for a job.

Looking for a job is not as easy as we thought it would be. I have been to a few interviews but mostly rejected. My husband has not got an interview yet. But we're not worried too much about it and enjoying every single day which we spend mostly by going shopping hehehe...

As for me, I am considering studying for my CFA exams. I am a bit sceptical whether I would pass this one as 1 month is not enough time to study the material and to practise on the exams questions. Since I have already paid for it, I might as well sit for the exams right? (shouldn't I be studying right now, rather than typing this blog? hehe..)

I am still getting used to the fact the sun comes up very early in the morning. It's so bright that I wake up naturally at 7.30. My husband doesn't seem to be affected and sleep peacefully. Most of my friends sleep at 10pm, even my 'old' Singaporean friends too. So I guess we should sleep earlier and wake up early too.

I am beginning to hate the sun too. I find it hot and burning my face. I need to bring a towel in the car and cover my face when the sun shines on me. I remember that I got my first freckles and moles right after I came back from Sydney the 1st time round, so I suspect I'd get a few more freckles now.... aaargh..... SPF30 would help but the ray is a bit painful on the skin.

Oh well, I should be hitting the books soon. Keep falling asleep when studying though. I'm planning to get a radio and a mirror in the study room, hopefully it would help to reduce the sleepiness. (Mirror helps as I tend to be less sleepy when scrutinising my freckles, dark circle, etc)

Personally I enjoy this period of not working and being domesticated (cleaning, washing, attempt to cook). I pray that my husband would get a job which pays enough that I could stay at home. Oh, we will try to 'seriously' make babies now hehe... that includes consultation with doctors. I suspect it won't be an easy ride to having babies, so need to prepare myself for the worst (IVF, cos I hate needles).