Calamansi
Don’t they look gigantic? These calamansi or kumquats are from my parents’ backyard. They look like they have been in steroids. Believe it or not my dad has always had a green thumb. He grows anything and everything even from those seed packets. On the other hand, my mum can kill a plant within 5 days later. I could not believe how enormous those calamansi are! Especially when you squeeze them, you get so much juice out of them it’s fantastic! Trust me it was so handy when I was sick a few weeks back. I literally swam in calamansi juice! I remember as a kid you’d have calamansi juice and it’s always made in a jar, (preferably those Tang glass jugs) and it would be so yummy I’d drink two glasses with my meals. Then get into trouble for not eating the rice. (Sorry ma!)
If only I could grow calamansi in my own garden. (Not that I have my own place right this moment). Maybe I should ask my dad to add lime trees too. Hmm... :).
body stuff, home stuff...
Ohhh, guess what I found?! I could not believe they have KIT in Bourke Street Myers. I was just ecstatic! It was like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I dunno, I felt like I was possessed better yet compelled to buy everything. Okay I raved on about Kleins in Brunswick (hey the stock Melbourne’s Sohum scrubs you know). I must admit KIT is pretty cool. I don’t find it as intimidating going through things like in Mecca Cosmetica or your usual make-up counter. The L’annine hand cream is divine! I have the mango scented one. For someone who washes their hands more than 50 times a day (health and work reasons of course) I’ve tried a variety of hand creams. From your Coles hand crème lotion to Body Shop Hemp lotion, et al, I have tried them all. This one does not feel to greasy on your skin same time hydrates it even when you are wearing chemo gloves everyday. Hehe… (Hmmm, maybe I should put this in makeupvalley.com)
And speaking of scents and candles, I even bought a home spray. Mango and Tangerine blend is delicious! Apparently it’s a top seller. From the stinky toilet to kitchen smell, the spray is smells very lovely. I just forgot what it is called but you’d see it in Kit. J When I got home I thought I’d get into trouble from my husband buying all these bath/beauty stuff. But he totally LOVED it too. Hehe.. I even got my friend and her husband buying stuff from Kit. Watch out, you don’t come out empty handed. Btw their website is www.kitcosmetics.com.au.
Je ne comprends pas....
I don’t understand. That was probably the only thing I could say to french speaking people other than my ‘bonjour!’ or ‘merci’. As much as I love the country when my husband and I went last May. I just couldn’t understand most of the things they tell me. Surprisingly, French people are very friendly. Well the ones I’ve encountered were all friendly except for a Monaco lady (which btw I won’t even go there). I even met a couple that spoke English to me while we waited in the Uffizi gallery line in Florence. I had such a ball when I was in France that when I boarded the plane on the way back home I promised myself to learn a language. Hmmm, my French struggled big time during the tour. Everyone understood my Spanish or Italian but not French. (Thank goodness for St. Als during my high school years). So off I went to enrol myself in CAE French 1A.
Classes started about 5-6 weeks ago. You should have seen my enthusiasm going back to studying. I was so excited being back to school in the city. My school is so close to all these great coffee/cake shops (okay I just meant one cake shop, Brunetti’s), the Westin hotel, Chanel, Collins Street, Alice Euphocemia, Kinky Gerlinki and even the coppers! I don’t even stress out coming out of school really late at night because it’s proximity to everything! Talk about heaps of fun every Monday night.
Then came to the fifth week. Not only my French grammar sucked, my nasal accent is terrible. Okay I felt like I’m going to the gym, you know excited at first, sucked the rest. Geewhiz, I admire all those people who go to work, take care of kids/etc, and do yoga/some physical activity and goes to school. Obviously I didn’t realise that it was a lot of dedication. (Duh).
I’m halfway through French 1A by next week and I’ve come to realise that I have learnt a lot. Even though I struggle with the grammar, it’s a good stress relief for me. I’m really glad that I’m studying. Again. Flicking back to those honeymoon pics, sure does bring a lot of memory. And a lot more perseverance to learn.
(Btw, this is one of my fave pics when I was travelling. Cute eh?)
