Heavenly Paradise@AdelineAng.com

This past weekend was Easter weekend. Besides a turkey meal, and many other delicious treats, we had a chance to enjoy this lovely Easter Bunny Cake!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter celebration!

It has been a long haul before the nice weather finally arrived! Nonetheless, I’ve to admit the fact that this year’s winter was short and we don’t usually get 10+ degrees until closer to May. I won’t complain too much, for all I can say :P

Last Thursday was a sunny day; a good day for me to try out my new camera lens *v*

On the walking bridge, which used to be a railway.

The sun was shinning brightly.

The seagulls were enjoying the sunset too :)

This guy has already started roller skating!

People were taking a stroll at the park.

Running….

The moon was gorgeous, almost a full moon, but not quite. Focusing on the branches, blurring the moon.

Focusing on the moon, blurring the branches.

A second attempt of the same idea. Focusing on the branches, blurring the moon.

Focusing on the moon, blurring the branches.

The broken ice chunks on the Nashwaak River, Fredericton North about two weeks ago.

Very abnormal winter indeed! I remembered there were times where Fredericton was visited by snowflakes in mid-April. This year, however, there were some relatively warmer days (above the freezing point) in January that bike enthusiasts were out riding their bicycles!

This past weekend, it was a record-high temperature of 15 degrees Celsius in the winter month! People were out in t-shirts and shorts, and started outdoor barbecuing! As of last Saturday, Fredericton area received about 135 cm of snow, as compared to the norm being 225 cm. The same time last year, there had been 275 cm snow accumulated in this capital city. In other words, the amount of snow we received thus far was only half of what we got in the last winter!

Cooler nights (below freezing) and warmer days (above freezing) for the past two weeks turned out to be good news for maple syrup harvest! The tappers couldn’t ask for better weather condition. Once the night temperature rises above freezing point, the maple saps will divert into new buds and leaves, which then ends the harvest season.

Welcome to the Malaysian Cultural Night 2010! About 30 students from the Malaysian Students’ Society of University of New Brunswick have put together a cultural night in the city of Fredericton on February 20th, 2010.

It was part of my university life; joining the board of committee and organizing events for the society members, as well as the community. The highlight was no other than the cultural night, which I considered as something of great challenge, knowing that the preparation work can take up to 3 months, if not more. Thanks to the society members who put in time and effort to make things possible, despite their busy schedules as full-time students.

This year, I was invited to be one of the masters of ceremony (a.k.a. emcees), while Miles filled in as a photographer.

It was a good-size crowd of 150 people; students, faculty members, and people from the community.

The backdrop of the stage.

Clementines! Yes, it was still Chinese New Year…

Red packets (a.k.a. Ang Pau)! They contained numbers for lucky draw.

A big and gorgeous bouquet made of “Bunga Telur” (a.k.a. Egg Flower). These flowers were given out as door prizes.

Rangoli, sandpainting with finely ground coloured powders, is known as a popular form of Indian art.

The Malaysian flag.

Food…food…best of all, it’s Malaysian food! Limited ingredients, restricted hours of preparation, and lack of manpower; despite all these, the food was made possible, scrumptious, delicious, appealing…. *thumbs up*

Want to find out more about Malaysian culture? Check out the exhibition section.

Performance of Silat, Malay martial arts.

Chinese Umbrella Dance.

The great finale–Lion Dance!

It was an eventful day. By the end of the evening, I was ready to hit the sack. What a wonderful way to introduce the Malaysian culture to the crowd which comprised of different nationalities, Canadian, Thai, Indian, Filipino, Chinese, and many more. Furthermore, it was a rewarding experience of tasting the Malaysian cuisine, learning Malaysian cultures, as well as enjoying cultural performances, without visiting Malaysia :)

Tim Hortons, the all-time favourite “kopitiam (coffee shop)” in Canada. I don’t visit Tim Hortons very often, but I make an effort to take some pictures when I’m there. Here are some of the pictures from Tim Hortons for the past six months or so.

The fall treats from Tim Hortons. Pumpkin spiced muffin and doughnut. There was even pumpkin spiced tea offered, around the Halloween season.

Cinnamon raisin, blueberry, whole grain, plain…. lots of options available for just a bagel. Can’t make up your mind? Try this “everything bagel.” Toasted “Everything bagel” with cream cheese (choice of plain, strawberry, or garlic & herb).

Hot breakfast sandwich, with a seasoned egg patty, a slice of processed cheese, and choice of sausage or bacon, on freshly baked tea biscuits.

Yummy breakfast sandwich!

Hot breakfast sandwich for the bagel lovers!

Candy Cane Doughnut; chocolate doughnut with chocolate glaze, and candy cane sprinkles. Needless to say, it was for the Christmas season!

Pastry filled with cream cheese and topped with raspberry jam.

Caramel Apple Fritter, made of chunks of apple and spiced of cinnamon.

Canadian doughnut, in conjunction with the Winter Olympics Games 2010 held in Vancouver, British Columbia on Feb. 12th to 28th.

It has been three weeks since I last blogged. Bad…bad…bad…! Anyway, it has been a lot going on for the past couple of weeks; Chinese New Year, Valentine’s Day, Malaysian Cultural Night, Engagement Party etc.

Here are some sweet pictures I’d like to share from the engagement party that Miles and I attended last weekend. The colour of the theme was YELLOW!!

The main cake and multiple cupcakes displayed in tiers.

Yellow roses icing on top. Very nice!

Food…food…and more food!

Elegant cupcakes; white cakes with buttercream icing. Yummy!

Elegant flower arrangement on the serving table.

One of the many dessert trays; lemon tarts, sugar cookies, cherry squares, red velvet cupcakes, cherry balls, chocolate peanut butter balls, and Oreo balls.

Shrimp (a.k.a. prawn) cocktail with seafood sauce in a shot glass, garnished with dill leaves.

Saint John, the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, with its population of approximately 70,000. It is also known as the oldest incoporated city in Canada.

The night scenes in Saint John, on a quiet evening.

How did you celebrate Christmas? To me, Christmas a great time for traveling and and having a get-together with friends. Other than that, there is not much to look forward to, since I’ve no family here in Canada. To cheer up my Christmas spirit, I might give myself a gift or two for Christmas. I know, it sounds pretty pathetic…

Last year, however, I celebrated Christmas with Miles and his family. A truly Canadian Christmas celebration; Christmas tree, treats, gifts, food etc.

I couldn’t remember the last time I was excited about Christmas and anticipated for the Christmas morning to come. Even though I never truly believed in Santa as a young kid, I was always looking forward to receiving my stuffed Christmas stocking on Christmas morning.

It brought back my childhood memory when I received a stuffed Christmas stocking in the morning! I’ve never had that many Christmas gifts in the past. Unwrapping each gift brought great excitement. That was one of the greatest fun celebrating Christmas!

Christmas decoration on the dining table.

Turkey and ham, with homemade beets and pickles for on Christmas day.

Homemade minced meat pie.

Plum Pudding. A must-have Christmas dessert in Miles’ family. It has a similar taste to fruit cake.

Hard Sauce, goes with the plum pudding. It is made of butter and icing sugar, and tasted like cake batter.

Christmas tree with gifts from Santa!

Cracking the nuts can be fun; walnuts, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, and almonds.

Let it snow…let it snow….let it snow… The white and fluffy snow is not only pretty to look at, but also fun to play with!

We had joy
We had fun
We had seasons in the snow
But the snow that we played
was just never last too long

* Modified from “Season In The Sun” by Westlife.

The womanized “Winnie the Pooh.”

The cute snowman blushed as being kissed on both cheeks.

One year after another, and twenty four hours a day never seems enough; each minute passes by even before we realize it.

Canada, or Fredericton to be precise; a place that I called my second home, for more than a quarter of the chapter of my life thus far. I couldn’t be grateful enough for all the blessings that’ve been showered upon me, in this foreign land that I used to know no one and no one knew me.

Live the life to the fullest, and cherish every moment in life. Welcome to the year 2010! May this year be a fruitful and a blessing one to you and me!

Stylish? Practical? I’m perplexed looking at the so-called “winter boots” on the market. Most of the women boots look pretty and stylish. Nonetheless, it doesn’t take long to realize that they have poor insulation, and with no water resistance! What good it is to keep one in the winter?

Oh well, I shouldn’t say that. For someone who hops into the car from home, drive to work, hop from the card into the work building, and hop back into the car and drive home after work, maybe, those boots won’t be a bad option.

For me, a few hundred metres of walk to the bus stop everyday, and a few kilometres of walk for groceries or to downtown when the buses are not available.

Where can those boots get me to? No where! It doesn’t take long before they get soaking wet from the snow, and leads to wet socks, and freezing feet.

So, be practical!

I’ve a good pair of leather boots that I’ve been wearing for the past six winters. It has good water resistance and well insulated. However, over the years, soles are losing treads and the traction isn’t the best. There were times where I almost slipped and fell on the icy patches, and worse still, I could barely balance myself walking down a steep slope. That was terrifying…

The solution to this is, studded boots! Same idea as studded winter tires, they will give more traction as compared to regular winter tires. These studded rubber strap, “Stabilicers,” can be placed around the bottom of my boots.

Off I went! Instead of avoiding the icy ground, I can now walk in a straight line without much complications.

Thanks to Miles for the great idea. It’s a nice Christmas gift, that allows me to walk in the winter with confidence ;)

I’m not a big fan of flu shots; not that I’m afraid of needles (I’ve had lots of practice from blood donation), but I’d rather let my own body immune system fight off the virus. What would happen if my body depends too much on the flu shots? Yes, by getting flu shot, I’m quite certain that my chances of catching the flu is close to nothing. Nonetheless, who can guarantee that I’m not catching something else in the air?

How many flu shots does it require for us to stay away from all the bugs? The answer is “too many.” Hence, my idea is, let my body defend for herself. This way, defense system can be strengthen and fight a longer battle.

Conversely, immune system that’s over protected (fully depend on flu shots) has a harder time to be on its own when crisis arises. Worse comes to worst, our body loses the battle and we feel miserable. At least, our body will then recognize the enemy and will do a better job in defending him/herself next time around.

When H1N1 flu shot became available to the public, I was contemplating whether or not I should get one. I convinced myself to get one in the end based on the following reasons:

1) H1N1 can be deadly. It doesn’t seem to get any better but worse. Prevention is better than cure.

2) If I never get the shot and happen to catch the flu. I’ll be the only person to be blamed.

3) It’s free. Actually, it’s more like I’ve already paid for it since it’s from the taxpayer’s pocket.

Some of the symptoms of H1N1 swine flu are: extreme fatigue, sore throat, cough, headache, runny & stuff nose, muscle aches, nausea, and vomiting. Who can get it? It’s just about anyone!  

The media hype on H1N1 influenza virus leads to absurd paranoiac amongst the public. Here is the question. Is H1N1 flu virus any worse than other flu or disease that we know of? Reports have shown that seasonal flu kills more than 35,000 Americans every year, 1.6 million people died from Tuberculosis in 2005, and SARS killed 163 people up to 2003. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there were about 8,000 confirmed death cases caused by H1N1 flu virus, up to end of November 2009. Is H1N1 virus any worse? Do the math.

What are the impacts of H1N1 (by getting the public paranoid)? Drug companies are selling more drugs, doctors are attending to more patients, medical institutions are getting more businesses. These phenomena made me wonder: are these all about media and politics?

Look at this. Every month, 50,000 people die from AIDS in South Africa. Every day, nearly 1,600 people die from AIDS. And guess what? 42,000 people died from car accidents in 2001 and more than 20,000 death cases from the common flu in the USA annually.

Stay healthy. Be happy. Instead of living in fear because of influenza viruses, there are lots of other things in life to be treasured and cherished.

Most people would probably agree with me that puddles aren’t pleasant to stumble into. Muddy and yucky. Eww! Pedestrians, especially, have to be extra cautious while walking along the sidewalk. Try to stay as far away from the road as possible. The “man-made fountain” is not as pretty as you thought it might be; yucky splashing water when a car is driven by the puddle is best to be avoided.

Apparently, carrying an umbrella on a rainy day can be very useful. Besides keeping ourselves dry, it can potentially be used as a “shield” to protect us from the splashing water.

Having said that, puddles can be a great setup for capturing water reflection images. Pretty cool!

The surroundings seem so different when it’s covered in snow. Although winter weather can be brutally cold, I enjoy the beauty and serenity of winter. It’s part of the nature, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to experience winter. I’m hoping to enjoy the most of it. Dress warm and stay strong!

My winter boots made their first appearance of the season this past Sunday. Taking pictures in the winter can be enjoyable, yet torturing. By the end of the session, my hands were nearly frozen. Gloves and camera don’t seem to go along very well. I was snapping pictures with my bare hands. Cold… freezing cold… but it was worthwhile :)

Advent (adventus in Latin meaning “coming”), is observed in many Christian churches during the preparation for Christmas celebration. A practice introduced by the German Lutherans, the Advent calendar starts on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. An Advent wreath has five candles; candles will be lit one at a time on a Sunday during the Advent season, and the central candle is not lit till Christmas Day. 

First Candle: The Candle of Prophecy/Hope
Second Candle: The Candle of the Way
Third Candle: The Candle of Joy
Fourth Candle: The Candle of Peace
Fifth Candle: The Christ Candle/Christmas Candle

In the commercial world, Advent calendar is widely available. It’s fun for young kids. There’s a piece of chocolate underneath each window with date printed on it. It’s a surprise everyday; pop open the window to receive a treat as Christmas Day approaches. A “big kid” like me is having fun with it :)