more pics of BFF weekend

Pictures from my BFF weekend a few weeks ago.
It has been a while since I laughed that much..



Dinner at FOG Prahran

And the next day, we were all headed to the Yarra Valley


Some wine tasting


A lazy Sunday winter afternoon..






Some posed shots






My favourite picture with our reflection on the water

wisdom teeth surgery

The past couple of day have been a bit crazy. I have been busy with work. Trying to clear up as much as I can before I am off work for a week. Yes, finally the time has arrived for me to get my wisdom teeth extracted. Mum emailed me on Tuesday, saying she is planning to fly over on Friday night to look after me following my wisdom teeth surgery. OMG. No Mum! I'll be fine! I'm a big girl now!

On Thursday afternoon, Little Miss-Whats-For-Lunch took me, by tram, to the hospital because I had no idea where it was. I was getting my surgery done at the Freemasons hospital in East Melbourne. She said to me "Jules, you know right, its expensive there. Its old, but expensive. Lots of rich people go to Freemasons". I said to her "Now you tell me!!" You could have said it earlier! But the nurse told me my hospital stay was fully covered by my private health insurance, so I had nothing to pay to the hospital. Phewww! I could have done it at Cabrini hospital, which is at Malvern, closer to home, but my surgeon was not working at Cabrini on August 21. So Freemasons it was.

I have had one wisdom tooth removed before back in 2006. It was done in Malaysia. Grumpy was not with me, but my dad was. I made sure he stayed by my side. My Malaysian dentist brought in some guy, who was a lecturer at University of Malaya. It was quite expensive for just that one tooth removed. I was awake the entire time, I knew they cracked the tooth into four pieces, and slowly removed each piece. During the extraction, I was numb, so I felt nothing. But when I got home, I can still remember that I was in excruciating pain that night. Being the 'smart Julee' that I was, I refused to eat any painkillers, which was panadol mainly I think. Mum and Dad nursed me throughout the rest of the week. I could not eat any delicious Malaysian food for the rest of the week, and then I was back in Melbourne already.

Fast forward a few years later, my Aussie dentist said the remaining three wisdom teeth are all impacted and I should get them removed. All my friends here said that their wisdom teeth does not hurt and so they do not need to get them out. But guess what? Mine is not causing me any grief either, the only reason I agreed to the extraction is because food can get stuck in between my molar and wisdom teeth, and if not cleaned properly, it could ruin my molars.

So I met my oral & maxillo facial surgeon back in June. He looks like Harry (Charlotte's husband) from SATC. Consultation was only about 15 minutes. He warned me the risks, all the worst case scenarios (ie permanent damage to nerves), and made me sign a paper to say that I am fully aware of the possible complications from surgery.

The night before surgery, my silly dog kept me up all night. I have no idea what was wrong with him, but he did not sleep, and he made sure I got no sleep at all either.

Finally Friday arrived. I woke up early and ate two slices of toast and a fruit for breakfast. After 7.30am, I had to start fasting. I could have fluids up til 10am. Water mainly. But that was it for the rest of the day. Grumpy drove me to the city. We parked the car at Crown casino. Then we trammed it to the city. Passed the car keys to Dopey's girlfriend, Grumpy went back to work, and I was to make the remainder journey to the hospital all by myself. Was I nervous? Hell yeah! I was terrified. I kept saying to Grumpy "What did I get myself into??!?"

I 'checked in' at 1pm. Met my surgeon Dr Harry-from-SATC, he did a good job at comforting a very nervous Julee. He said he will only need about 30 minutes to get all three wisdom teeth out. He kept saying its always easy when I'm asleep. I also met the second doctor, who was the anaesthetist, and he explained what he would be doing to get me to sleep. Both doctors reminded me to put ice packs on my cheeks post surgery, to help reduce swelling and even pain.

It was quite bizarre, I thought Dr-Harry-from-SATC was going to be treating me, and only me, but I was wrong. There were at least eight people, all due for surgery with him! I sat there thinking, wow, he is a rich man.

Here is a bad picture of me all dressed up in hospitalwear and a shower cap.

Finally at about 3.15pm, the nurse came to me and said "Right Julee, its your turn!" Whoopeeee! NOT!

As I walked in to the operating theatre, it was all very daunting. They covered me up with a warm blanket. And I saw both doctors there. I was already so sleepy by that time, I wanted to tell them I don't need general anaesthetic anymore because my dog kept me up all night. Everyone kept talking to me in the theatre, I was not sure if they were keen to know more about me, or merely trying to keep me distracted. The last I remembered was that they were all trying to pronounce my family name 'NG' haha.. one of the nurses was malaysian chinese too, so she was telling the rest that it was pronounced "urngg". The anaesthetist injected into my hand (above my elbow), and said I will be feeling very sleepy soon, he asked me if I thought it tasted like garlic at the back of my mouth, before I could answer.. *poof* I was off to sleep.. in a matter of seconds.

I heard noises about an hour later, and then I woke up. No pain. I could not close my mouth. My face wrapped with ice packs. Dr-Harry-from-SATC put heaps of local anaesthetic into my mouth, so I was quite numb in the mouth. After about 10 minutes from one area, I was wheeled to my own recovery bay. The nurses gave me lemonade and some water, making sure I finished both. Lemonade to get my sugar levels up. Then she rang Dopey, as he was the lucky person I nominated to pick me up from the hospital.

The nurses asked if I wanted some ice cream or some jelly to eat. I said no, I was fine as I was.

A while later, both doctors came by to speak to me. Dr-Harry-from-SATC said he was very happy with my procedure, and I should be all good. I wanted to ask him for my teeth, but I could hardly talk. He said the stitches would disappear and we will meet again in a month's time.

After an hour from recovery, the nurse removed the drips from my arm, and I got dressed. I could hear some of my neighbours complaining of nausea and dizziness. But I felt fine. I was fed about three tablets, painkillers I think, before going home. Dopey came, fashionably late of course, and I'm on my way home! Pitstop to the local chemist to get my prescription. My script consists of antibiotics, anti-inflammatory tablets and painkillers.

I get home by 7pm, and I rest on the sofa for the remainder of the night. Grumpy gets back from work, and made me dried oyster and dried scallop congee. He used an immersion blender to make the congee easier for me to swallow. It is very yummy. He is the best! I used a pack of frozen peas and place them against my cheeks. I also used a pack of frozen dahl (for my roti) as it helps. This ice pack idea is brilliant. Why didn't my Malaysian dentist mentioned this back then?

There is some bleeding, but nothing excessive. All good. I slept soundly, woke up at 8am this morning.

And here is me now.

No real swelling. Not in any pain. I feel fine. This time round, I feel a lot better compared to my previous Malaysian experience.

LB fan

I have always been a hugeeeeee Little Britain fan. They are absolutely hilarious. I have actually seen David Walliams in real life.. both Grumpy and I were just walking along the famous Grafton Street in Dublin, and he walked past.. It was so cool. The only celebrity I saw in real life while in Europe. Sydney Boy and I have this thing, about spotting celebrities when travelling overseas.

Anyways, there are some funny videos from Funny or Die, by Matt Lucas and David Walliams.

My two favourites are:

1. Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow

2. Cheryl Cole and Nicola Roberts (If you have seen episodes of X Factor, you will notice how Cheryl Cole says "That was absolutely amazing")

Enjoy!

my Saturday

As most couples prepare to the lead up of their wedding, you can most certainly expect the bride and groom to encounter some bumps along the way. Some big... some not so big, yet still appear big to the struggling Bridezilla..

We have had our fair share of dramas. I don't know if it could get any worse, but coupled with the shitburgers I have been getting at work lately, you can definitely most imagine me to be sad, worked out and feeling low at the moment.

Last Friday, I was very fortunate to have my BFF Little-Miss-Drink-A-Lot come visit me from Sydney. She came with her other half, Mr-Big-Smiley-Face. It has been such a long time since we met up. But when we finally do meet up, we realise how important it is for us to catch up every so often.

Everything was rather well planned, and I organised for my make up and hair trial appointment for Saturday, so that she could come with me. Plus, she is my maid of honour, and therefore I need her here in Melbourne for me.

It was quite an interesting day. JD (make up/hair artist) is very professional. I got her contact from a friend and a cousin, who both got their make up and hair done by her, and the truth is, they both looked fantabulous on their wedding day! I was so excited about my trial. Every girl loves a good makeover session, and we even had morning tea provided at the trial.

How did the trial go? Ermm... not so good. Its partly my fault, I don't know. The make up, I was certainly happy. She used good brands and it was so comfortable. But the hair, not quite. I thought it was good to be honest about it, but JD was very defensive and all I can say is that she doesn't handle constructive criticism very well. I blame myself for not bringing pictures of what I wanted. But still?! I'm the client here, you should be reassuring me of other options, instead, I was assuring her I would 'eventually' like the hairstyle. Such a cow, I swear. Despite that, I admit that the hairstyle that she gave me was still a good piece of work, and she did a brilliant job, BUT it is just that it was not what I wanted.

I am very tempted to post some pictures of the trial here, but Grumpy is saying I will ruin a good surprise. Hel-lo.. it will still be the same face we will be seeing.. it is not like I am going for plastic surgery or anything. LOL.

But here is one of me, just after she set my hair. Note her gay assistant. Miss-Drink-A-Lot pointed out that he looked a lot like Perez Hilton, and its true. He was very entertaining.

I have still decided to go ahead with JD. If, I still have a wedding.. that is. But lets not talk about depressing things at this stage.

So after the trial, we went to a local restaurant for lunch. Then back home. Miss-Drink-A-Lot and I spent some time looking at wedding pictures of friends, exchanging thoughts and just chilling out.

Before dinner, I decided to take the dog out for a walk. And so, I carefully changed into my trackie daks, trying not to ruin my hair and make up, which cost me a lot of money already. As we walked out of the house with the dog, our neighbours looked at us, of course! And I was very close to saying "Yes, this is how I normally look when I take my dog out for a walk".

Finally we went out for dinner. I booked us a table for 8 people at FOG in Prahran. About 4 weeks in advance! I wanted to get us a table at Movida, but of course, Movida was already fully booked out. Its definitely not easy getting a table at a good restaurant here in Melbourne for a Saturday night! FOG was nice. It was packed. We ate, sipped wine and had some merry times together.

Here's a picture of my BFF and Mr-Big-Smiley-Face. He smiles a lot. We were all looking at the pictures from my hair and make up trial earlier that morning.

But of course, I still want to post a picture of Grumpy and I together .. as last Saturday was our 11 year anniversary together. ELEVEN years, yes, eleven!

So that was my Saturday.

I've just seen more pictures of the weekend from other friends now in FB. Mr-Big-Smiley-Face had some friends join us over the weekend, two of them were professional wedding photographers. They were happy snapping everyone's pictures of Saturday night and even on Sunday. We are such posers! :)

Will share more pictures soon. Off to bed now and hope to wake up to a better day!

special treats

I was on the phone to my colleague in Lux the other day. She's French, and she was telling me about her recent trip to Paris. Suddenly my very boring day at work sort of lit up, as she was said words like 'Christian Louboutins' and 'Manolo Blahniks'... From shoes, we spoke about Dyptique candles.. and she said to me "Have you heard of Nuxe?" I said no. How do you spell it? N-U-X-E. Nope. I have never heard of it. She goes "Ahhh you must try this oil! It is amazing!!! You must get Belgian Truffles (my Belgian boss here in Australia, who was back in Belgium for holidays) to get a bottle for you! Its SO nice.. everyone here in France is talking about this!"

And today, Belgian Truffles came back, and he got me a bottle! Its really nice. Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse. You can use it on your face, body or even your hair. Its an oil, but it doesn't make you feel like you just stepped out of the Shanghai dumpling restaurant here on Tattersalls Lane. Its not greasy. And it smells so nice.

Its about 25 euros for a 100ml bottle, I think.

And of course, he did not forget my customary French copy of Vogue magazine. I have plenty of these, anyone who goes to France usually brings a copy back for me. You don't need to read French to appreciate a Vogue magazine.. I subscribe to the Vogue UK and it gets delivered to me in the post each month, but these French Vogues are a special treat for me..

salad

In recent months, Grumpy has been an avid golfer. If he could, he would play every day. Boys can become quite delusional, forgetting commitments and responsibilities, all in the name of golf.

Anyway, while he occupies himself with golf related activities on weekends, I do other things like going to the gym or just spending quality time by myself at home. I have also started taking over in the kitchen, making dinner on Sunday evenings.

Last night, I was reading Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop website, and her latest post is about making roast chicken with potatoes. There is a video of her making this dish as well, which I think is brilliant. I have always loved Gwyneth Paltrow. And she is also married to the lead singer of one of my favourite bands. Many critics have said that her website is a bit 'Miss Goody Two Shoes' or.. some say its a way of her showing others how perfect her life is, blah blah blah. But I like it. She talks a lot of about eating organic. I said to Grumpy, "we should start eating organic". He says to me "No, you don't make enough money to eat organic" Hehehe its true. Organic food is very trendy and very expensive. But we should still cut down on eating processed food. Its bad for you.

Okay I'm getting a bit sidetracked here. Back to the roast chicken with potatoes. She makes dinner in 7 minutes and 40 seconds. Me? I take two hours. Yah its just me. Which is why I never cook on weekdays. I am too slow in the kitchen.

The chicken was delicious. Did not require too many ingredients, it was simple and full of flavour.

But wait, my favourite part was the Farmers Market Salad. She uses many different veggies, which is great. One of them called Arugula, which I have no idea what it is.. But I just used fresh mixed salad I got from the green grocers and some baby carrots.

Now, family and friends have always known that I make a really nice crispy noodle salad. But I can't be making the same salad over and over again. I've tried making many other types of salad, but none proving to be as popular as my crispy noodle salad. However, I think I have found a new one now. I think its all comes down to the dressing.

So here's the dressing I made today from Goop:

1. 1 small shallot, chopped
   
2. 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
3. 1 and a 1/2 teaspoon of maple syrup (the most expensive ingredient from tonight's dinner)
4. 1 teaspoon of white vinegar (Goop uses champagne vinegar, but again, I probably don't make enough money to use champagne vinegar)
5. 3 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
   
6. sprinkle of salt
7. freshly ground pepper
   

I can picture myself making this salad when we have family or friends over for dinner now. It is delicious!