Laman Pesona

The pool, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

Imagine driving pass some small shop houses and making a turn to the right to find a lovely "resort" ...something amazingly posh by Raub standards. It's 16 KM from town. The resort consists of a buggy ride ( the niece enjoyed it and we returned 3 times in a space of 2 weeks for dinner here) a tomyam barbecue place at the bottom of the hill, a jogging trek and barbecue spots to the left and facing you as you walk thru the entrance you see little chalets built on a hillside and a bigger building to the left with quite a bit of glass which houses the main chinese restaurant. The pool ( pictures above) is secluded, smallish but nice. ( 4 foot indeed..hehe spot the grammar booboo)

The food we were told was mediocre. And this was wrong. I enjoyed all the three meals we had. Consistently good. Service was good too. ( The last wedding dinner my parents attended here ....was slow so I'm guessing they've picked up their pace a whole lot since) The place was packed on a weekday. And I met my old chemistry teacher and his wife there.

You may click here for the link to their website

Laman Pesona Resort & Spa
Lot 3 & 4, Seksyen 4,
Kampung Baru Cheroh,
27620 Raub, 
Pahang Darul Makmur
Email: admin@lamanpesona.com.my 

Back to work

Back to work, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

Hello and a belated Merry Christmas. Am back to work (yesterday). It was lovely to do nothing for 2 weeks. We had a lovely time at home. Despite the continuous rain in KL and the reported ( scary) flooding in Kuantan, we had a dry Christmas break. It only started to rain the last 2 days. AS a result, we enjoyed the garden and managed to squeeze in the obligatory badminton sessions, walk in town, drive to Lata Jarum ( it was closed AGAIN this year) and we found this new "resort" in Cheroh called Laman Persona.( separate post for it)

Here are my bags travelling back to KL with me. I was more disciplined this time around ...and practiced my scales and chromatics and pieces almost every day. And you can just about make out the 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle we completed in less than 24 hours at the bottom left of this picture. Next scheduled break: Chinese New Year at the end of January 2014.

Secret Recipe!

This is a cafe selling cakes and food. It made its debut in 1997. There are many shops in KL. They vary in size and sadly in their quality of food/cakes and service. I had dinner at one of the cafes and the dory in lobster sauce was overdone. The edges were tough and the sauce slightly watery. The chips on the side were cold when served. The cake we had after dinner was half the size and it tasted a little off.  We left for some decent coffee to drown the disappointment of dinner.

So secret recipe , if you're reading this, please maintain your standards.

Kathleen MacMahon

She is Irish. She writes well. "This is how it ends" should be on everyone's bookshelf because it is good. It is a love story which is so touching you find yourself  cheering the the couple on and towards the end you find yourself wishing hard for things to turn around.

This is a story about Addie and Bruno. How they met and fell in love. In the background is Hugh ( Addie's father who is easy to hate but MacMahon makes him vulnerable too so he's not a typical villain but a believable one) , Addie's sister Della, Della's husband Simon and Addie's dog Lola. The story starts at a nice pace and remains at that gentle cantle throughout making it a addictive read. The climax is at the end of the book and as you read the last sentence you can't help but want more from the author. For me, this is a sign of a very good book

Kanga, Lady Tyron, Who is she?

Taken from the Daily Mail

Prince Charles had numerous girlfriends when he was younger and he had two ladies whom he was"close" to. One of whom he has since married; Camilla Parker Bowles. The other was Dale Harper who perhaps is better known as "Kanga". So who was Kanga? She was an Australian, daughter of  rich businessman who was shipped to London by her mother.

In London she met Lord Tyron and as his fiancee she was brought to Buckingham palace and met Prince Charles. Dale was known a a vivacious lively young lady. I imagine this captivated Prince Charles and they became and remain close for many years.

During this period, Charles remained close to Camilla and some believe he shuttled between the two women. Both got married, Camilla to Andrew Parker Bowles and later Dale to Lord Tyron. I believe the tabloids made them out to be enemies both vying for Prince Charles' affection. Camilla made Prince Charles godfather to her son Tom Parker Bowles. Dale did the same thing and Charles became godfather to Charles Tyron.

There is a rather tragic ending to Dale Lady Tyron. She used the media and would slip little nuggets of information which made her unsafe to the royal family. In stark contrast, Camilla remain silent. Desperate to remain important, she later became rather erratic in her behavior and had a mysterious fall from an open window which left her crippled an wheel-chair bound.

Lord Tyron divorced her later and she eventually died from septicemia. She is survived by her 4 children. Prince Charles did not attend the funeral.

klcc park

klcc park, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

We headed to KLCC on Sunday. Not our usual destination and THIS is the reason just why we should shy away from this place. It was swarming with people. We sat outside to enjoy the water fountain. ( SO did most other people) The weather was nice….just mildly warm and there was a slight breeze

Needles

Taken from Whimsy Loft

I did home science in secondary school and despite getting an A I can now hardly thread a needle without pricking my finger and swearing a little. I've a blouse with a safety pin on it for the last 3 years. That'll give you an accurate idea of what a poor needle woman I am.

Oddly enough, I have a plan to do a spot of cross stitch this Christmas break. I bought the set in Jakarta and it's small ( yay) and looks easy enough to finish in a week if I sew diligently through the day. Other great plan is to paint….and I hope that works too. Oh yes and in between all that, I promise I would practice my scales and arpeggios on a daily basis with EVERY note at the correct pitch.  Now that's a lot of work to do!

Where is the umbrella when you need one

Taken from physicsworld

It rained this evening. One of those slow drizzle which crescendos into a bigger rain intermittently. I had a hair trim and parked the car in a open space only to realize I have no umbrella in the car. And so I arrived at the hairdressers with big spots of rain drop marks on my baju. I weaved in and out of the rain but it was determined to get the better of me. And after the hair trim…it continued raining.

I shouldn't complain. I believe the rain in KL has reached its peak a few weeks back. I hope the flash floods are a thing of the past. The school holidays has also helped the traffic. Despite the rain this evening, the traffic moved at a decent pace and I got through town in a decent time.

Things I like to eat

soto, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

In no particular order, below are some of my favorite food.
1. Soto
2. Keropok lekor
3. Keropok Binjar
4.Curly fries
5. Cantonese noodles (yinyong)
6.Nasi goreng Petai
7.Bibimbap
8.Vietnamese dry noodles
9.Rava Thosai
10Dominos chicken perfection pizza

Oh dear…all unhealthy food:P

making questions

making questions, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

We work in a university based hospital. And the end of the year marks a time where we furiously start making questions for the undergrads for vetting and submission at department and faculty level.

One best answer ( otherwise known as OBAS) are easier to answer and much harder to create. A creation of one may well induce a mild headache and a sense of frustration when you reread it only to reject it yourself.

I'm a little behind this year. (Boohoo)

lovely cakes

lovely cakes, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

These cakes are a good size for a party consisting people who are watching their calories. It's smallish but yet stylish. The icing can withstand heat. We left it in the car while we had lunch and returned to find it intact. This was the scorching noon sun mind.

Priced at RM35. Some might say it's pricey. But when you open the box there ail definitely be some oOs and Aaas. Worth the money spent.

Here is the website:

email: cookieboxmy@gmail.com
tel no: 03-61422333
Hp no: 019-3277-388

Advent Calendar 2013

Just got my Advent Calendar!!!! #xmas #festive #chocolate #advent #late #cadbury #calendar #adventcalendar #santa #december #feelingchristmas #jolly #christmas, originally uploaded by PayalC.

I've succumbed to temptation and since last week I've my own advent calendar hanging. The last time I had it was in university where I would pop a choc in the mouth just before leaving for lectures. Brings back memories.

Advent is a season of preparation as we await the birth of Christ. It marks the new year in the Christian calendar. And more importantly ,it should be not only about preparation of the home and tree and cookies but the preparation of our souls to receive Christ.

"Joy to the world, the Lord is come "

( I'm going to pop a chocolate in the mouth before leaving for work)

Scented candles

DSC04744, originally uploaded by Debs (ò‿ó)♪.

If you're a fan of these….you really should try Jo Malone scented candles. Basil and Mandarin that's the one! They have a wide range of products ranging from scented candles( yay), body cream, shower gel ( bit pricey RM 200 for a smallish bottle), soap ( RM78 for a smallish bar but I think do-able), diffuser, perfumes, bath oil and home and linen sprays.

Jo Malone is owned by Estee Lauder companies. I think we're more familiar with that name. Jo Malone started mixing fragrances at the age of 15. She left school then to look after her mum who had a stroke and her 10 year old sister.

Jo Malone is also a breast cancer survivor. She was diagnosed in 2003 and underwent double mastectomy. And as a child had to overcome dyslexia.

She parted ways with "Jo Malone" the company after initially staying back after the acquisition to be creative director. After leaving, there was a clause to state that she couldn't produce any new fragrance for 5 years. This was up in 2011, and Jo Malone has launched her new on-line business Jo Loves.

You can visit it at www.joloves.com

Getting into the right size

from Getloss

I'm somewhere in between these two in shape. On a bad day I can sway to the lumpy lady on the left. On a good day and with some imagination I can believe I have the body on the right. How best to lose weight? Well sensibly it should consist of a mix of both eating less carbs and exercising more to burn the fat. Current status is more to the right ( whoppeee) and it should remain like so until I buy a decent outfit for Christmas. Last year I had little buffalo wings on the arms which NOBODY bothered to tell me. I only realized it in the family pictures. This year…I'll be wearing longer sleeves to be on the safe wide.

Currently reading these books

Bought this book from Kinokuniya 2 weeks back as a celebration of the end of my general medicine coverage in the ward. (Yay to that!) The synopsis appears intriguing and there's a review from the late Maeve Binchy at the back cover and she wrote ". I love Binchy's books. All of them. And I was very sad when she died. So if she gave a good review to a book ….I would have to read it definitely. It's  a story of people who are easy to believe in and hard to forget". Pretty accurate so far. It centers around Bruno and Addie. And it's centered in Dublin, Ireland.  But I won't say more until I've finished the book. Page 151 so far.

Yesterday I was also swayed and I bought another book.

This isn't my first Trollope book. I collect her books and except for one ( I forget the name now) the rest have been very good reading. And THIS is her latest. ( Sense and sensibility with a twist……how lovely. I think you may appreciate it more if you're read the original Austen version.) 

It's not in the right size for my shelf….it's bigger but after sitting down and reading the first 2 pages at MPH Solaris…I had to buy it. And so now..I'm reading two books concurrently and carefully putting enough time between the two reads so I don't destroy the joy of each book and mix the two or compare the two unfavorably.

messy desk

messy desk, originally uploaded by andreaban2009.

The weekend was spent at the Academy of Medicine which is just off Jalan Pahang. It's a new-ish building with a lot of parking spots in front of it. This is unique for any building in the city centre.

A group of us were roped in for some work for a workshop and this is the desk as we left it for tea break. Quite a mess yes?

Just finished this book

 A really nice good. I started in a few days ago and because I was busy ( playing candy crush and errm working as well of course) it took a bit of time before I sank into the story. When that happened, it was go go go. The story gripes you and I greedily read through the last few chapters enjoying the depth of emotion and having a bit of weep as well.

I enjoyed this book very much. And will give it a 9/10. Bought at Kinokuniya at RM 35. I haven't seen it anywhere else.

Rabbit Rabbit

baby rabbit, originally uploaded by blackfox wildlife and nature imaging.

It's the first day of the month. And I remembered to say Rabbit Rabbit. ( It's also a bit annoying cos I can't sleep and it's nearly 2am ) Will pay for he dearly later in the day. Definitely! It's the first Sunday in Advent the start of the new year and the countdown for my Christmas break starts.