Lily murmurs in English

I am back here!

2011-12-29T18:36:00.001+08:00

I didn't check and write my English blog for over one year, ha. Well, because I put most of my time on maintaining my Chinese blog, and my English was progressing very slowly, thus after a while, I almost forgot I still had this blog. But I didn't have many readers here, so here would be only a place for me to practice my English writing.

From last post to this recent post, my life changed a lot during this year. At the end of 2011, when I look back, I feel so appreciated to myself and my dearest partner-MKL. We overcame a lot of things, from he decided to move to Taiwan, plan to stay here, tried to get used to the foods and culture, got a job and work in a high pressure working system, and married me with a high expectation from my parents. Everything for him is not easy but even tougher than we thought. I do admire my husband, he faces such great challenges, but is still strong to handle and manage them, never give up, he is absolutely a hero in my heart and life. He keeps his words to fight for me in a foreign country, to take care of me like a real knight, I appreciate what he has done for me. Therefore, I also try my best to treat him well, make he feel like home here.

MKL officially moved to Taiwan at Feb, and then we registered our marriage at April, at the same month he started to work, and after few months later, we held our wedding party at Sep. Time flies, in one year we managed and achieved several important things in our lives, we finally succeeded and made it.

I know there would be more challenges wait for us, but I know we are a great team, we can find our way to solve and move on. To make our lives better is the main faith. I just realized that any possibility would come true one day, only if you really want to make it.

At this moment, a new year is coming, we would like to share our happiness with all of you, and wish you will be luck and happy together.

I wish you best of luck!

My happy birthday in 2010.

2010-11-14T23:26:00.002+08:00

I had my birthday on Nov 11th. And although my dearest boyfriend was far, he tried his best to give me an unforgettable birthday memory. He really did a great job by writing a sweet post in Chinese on his blog. I felt so touched and cried when I was reading his lovey-dovey birthday wish. I always feel it's so great to come to this world and meet him, he absolutely is the best gift I ever got. I was pretty busy on my birthday, so let me tell you what I did:

1. I went to the yearly medical check-up.
2. I went to the hair salon to dye my hair.
3. Went to a fancy restaurant to have dinner with my friends.

I finished all of the tasks and everything went pretty smoothly and well. From my medical check-up, I know I am healthy and I reach my diet goal: I lost some body fat in this year. Now my body fat is 22%, hope I can keep it. And because my hair salon offers 40% discount to customers who have birthdays in the same month, I chose to dye my hair this month. I got me a new color and now my hair is shiny again. The 3rd task is something I do every year, I pick a popular and famous restaurant and invite my friends to have dinner with me. You can read that on Nino's blog, I wrote a guest post.

I really had a great birthday, because not only did I receive my boyfriend's lovely gift, but also had a delightful birthday dinner and received tons of blessings on facebook, plurk and twitter. I think I was really so blessed that day. I hope I could share my luck to others and the readers who read this post. :-)

Gel nails rock !

2010-10-16T00:25:00.002+08:00

I love my nails.

I think my parents gave me nice and long fingers and good shape of nails. I think they're cute and make my hands look elegant. So like other girls, I like to polish my nails and also like to add cute drawings or decorations to them. But it's really annoying to wait for the polish dry, that's why I like to go to a nail salon and do my nails there in the recent 3 months. Although it costs more, because they're made with gel, but it's really worth it. You save your time and make your nails look good at least for a month. And the professional manicurist will usually do a good job and make you addictive. At least they made me addictive to gel nails now. :-)

These are the nails I did for the last 3 months. The first two are made on my toes, because I love to wear sandals in summer, so I think it's a must to have well done and shinny nails, that make you look prettier and sexier. After I did the pedicure, I love my toes more and always look at them while wearing sandals, hehe. They really made my toes sexy.

And then this Wednesday I did my first time manicure and chose the most popular color and used some cute lace stickers on my nails. My manicurist is so talented and really made them like I wished. MY FINGERS BECAME SO ELEGANT NOW. I love them so much.

In conclusion, to be a well-maintained woman, you not only need time but also need money to make yourself look and feel good.

Do you like to do gel nails also? Please share your opinions. :-)

I got the Stylist blogger and Cherry on Top Awards!

2010-05-28T22:17:00.005+08:00

Last week I was murmuring to my boyfriend that I didn't know what topic I could write on my English blog. He gave me some suggestions, but I still didn't have any ideas. I have a semi-popular Chinese blog in Taiwan and I know what topics my Taiwanese readers are interested in, but when it comes to my English blog, I sometimes have no clue what my readers like to read. For me, blog is not a diary, but more of a sharing platform for sharing my various experiences, so I don't write too many private or personal things online. That's why I haven't updated my English blog for a while recently.

Therefore, my kind and sweet boyfriend tagged and awarded me and then I got a topic to share with my readers, although most of the readers are our friends. :-P

The rule of this tag is to write 5 random facts about you and award the tag to 5 others. Well, maybe I can't tag others, because I don't know so many foreign bloggers, but I still can tag some of my lovely and cute friends.

Here are my random facts:

1. I have a big scar between my eyebrows.

I did several surgeries and tried to make it look better, even hoped it'll disappear, but it couldn't. I got it 10 years ago, while I rushing to catch the train. I was unfortunate to fall down on the stairs, hit my face and broke my glasses. It cut my face and ever since, I lack confidence in my appearance. I must say that my boyfriend always says I am beautiful and that the scar is small and not obvious. Should I listen to him?

2. My body fat was 24.1% last time, and I want to lose some more weight to get the goal of 22% in this year.

3. I have several gray hairs.

I am like my father, I have gray hair from my junior high school time. At that time half of my hair was gray! I guess I was reading too many books and thought too much. But recently, it got better, I guess that indicates I don't read too many books recently, hehe...

4. I can eat same foods at least one month.

If I am on diet, I can eat same dishes (usually low-calorie) every day, at least for a month.

5. I don't hear well.

When I was a little girl, my grandmother noticed my problem and she asked my mum to send me to hospital to do a check-up. But my mum thought I don't hear well, because I was too focused on something. She thought I didn't have a real problem. Years later, I was at my ex boyfriend's and there was a high-pitched sound, but I didn't hear it. He was the one who told me and I was a bit surprised. But I decided not to do anything about it, because I didn't have any inconveniences because of that :-P

And now to the Cherry on Top reward. For this tag I have to thank the person who gave me the reward, copy and post it on my blog, then list three things I love about myself and post a picture I love. Then tag 5 people.

This is my sweet boyfriend, he always looks nice to me, and I love him so much.

Well, I don't know if I can tag and give the reward to any of my friend, but I hope I can tag some, hehe. At first, I want to thank my boyfriend, he tagged me and gave me this topic to write. Then here are 3 things I love about myself:

1. I love my kind heart.

I'm a bit shy to say that I have a kind heart, but people keep telling me that, so I guess there's some truth in it. I think I'm just normal, I am just kind to my friends, family and the people I love. Because I love them, I hope I can make them happy and help them to have a better life.

2. I love my patience and willpower.

If I decide to do some things or change my bad habits, I usually do it. Although it would be a long-term struggle, I would keep doing it and try to make it part of my life, such as going to gym, yoga or improving the way I hold chopsticks.

3. I love my talent of cooking.

Well, this one hasn't been tested by my boyfriend yet, but I got some good feedback from my family in the past. I seldom cook at home, but if I do, it's usually good. I read the recipes first, even if that is my first time to cook, I still can make it well! To me cooking is interesting and a lot of fun, I want to have my own nice kitchen one day.

Ok, I want to tag and give these 2 awards to some of my lovely friends and those who came to my blog recently:

1. Stefanie from http://msstefanie.blogspot.com/
2. Manju from http://littlem-o-holic.blogspot.com/
3. Shingo T from http://shingot.blogspot.com/
4. Hipper from http://hipper-itw.blogspot.com/
5. さらまり from http://chouzuru.blogspot.com/

If you do the tag or don't, it's really up to you. Just take it easy, k. I won't spy on you, hehe. Although I will continue stalking you on your blogs ;-) (Stole this sentence from my sweet boyfriend MKL)

Attending my friend's wedding dinner.

2010-04-28T12:25:00.006+08:00

Today I would like to introduce a Taiwanese wedding dinner for you.

My college friend Julian had her wedding dinner on April 3rd and my boyfriend and I were invited to join the dinner. It was held in a Taiwanese seafood restaurant. Because Taiwan is an island, that's why the quality of seafood here is good and our fellows like to eat a lot of it. In Taiwan, a couple will have at least 2 wedding parties, one is for the engagement, the other one is for marriage, but in Southern Taiwan, some will have another dinner, called "歸寧" (归宁, Gui Ning), means the married daughter would go back to paternal home, treat and thank the whole family and relatives who in return support the entire wedding ceremony. The one we attended was Julian's engagement wedding dinner.

The restaurant is a brand-new one, all the equipments were new and the banquet hall was also new and beautiful. On every table there were placards which showed the names of guest groups and the menu of that day's dinner. Before we entered in the main hall, we had to sign our names at the reception, which was located at the entrance of the hall. While signing our name, we gave our money gift to the reception personnel. And because it was an engagement dinner, we got a lovely bride cookie box in return.

Although on the invitation card said the dinner would start at 12:00 PM, but our fellows are known not to arrive on time, especially when it comes to this kind of wedding dinners. I have no clue why this became a habit. We were waiting till 12:40PM and while the hall was still filling up with guests, the wedding dinner had started.

A moderator opened the wedding dinner and there were many cute kids entering the banquet hall. The boys wore black suits and the girls wore white dresses and all of them held a small basket and threw rose petals in the air which were slowly falling on the red carpet. The cute kids were followed by the bridesmaid and groomsman and then finally newlyweds entered. When my friend, now the bride Julian, came in, I almost couldn't move my eyes, she looked so beautiful and stunning, I've never seen her like this, I felt so excited. And the light of the restaurant was so great, I could easily take good pictures of them. After the newlyweds took their place, the wedding dinner started formally. Because Julian majored in Chinese Literature, she invited a Chinese zither group to perform at the dinner, which was so smooth and temperate and all the dishes were also nice.

Some 30 min later, Julian changed another bridal gown and entered the main hall with her husband and everyone applauded them. The second gown was stunning, too, and made her look like a real princess. After she reached the center stage, I heard the moderator calling my name among others. The boyfie and I were a bit confused. Then I realized that Julian would give her wedding bouquet to one of her single friends. She didn't throw it, but used several ribbons that were tied to the bouquet, and every girl chose one of them and pulled at the same time. Only one would get it. Well, it wasn't me this time (actually I got one before), but I still got some candies from the lovely bride.

Another 30 min later, Julian and her husband entered the main hall again with new attire. Julian wore another sexy gown and she really looked so beautiful and sexy. Then the newlyweds and their parents went around visiting every table and toasting every guest, who attended the dinneer.

After the toast, the dinner went on another 30 min and then it was over. Upon exiting, the bride held a plate full of candies, while sending off guests. Many wanted to take photos with her and the husband and everyone received candies from her and congratulated her.

This is my boyfie's first time to join a real wedding dinner and he had a great time. And I was so happy for Julian, because she finally found her true love of her life!

Can Lin Yu Chun 林育群 grasp his chance to make his dream come true?

2010-04-12T00:06:00.011+08:00

A Taiwanese boy named Lin Yu Chun [林育群] is the latest internet sensation. He sang Whitney Houston's legendary I Will Always Love You flawlessly on a Taiwanese show named Super Star Avenue or One Million Stars [超級星光大道] similar to American Idol. If he's the winner of the show, he will get 1 million Taiwan dollars and a chance to produce an album. You just have to listen to his stunning performance. Check the video below.

Is Lin Yu Chun the next Susan Boyle? Is he the next Taiwanese Whitney Houston? Who knows, only time will tell. But he definitely became an internet sensation and may become popular all over the world.

[Photo from You-Tube video]

Some of our people said the huge difference of his appearance and the amazing singing skill made him instantly popular, but I think, if he didn't have a good voice and really performed well, then he wouldn't get a lot of attention. But since we can't know when will we get the chances to be famous or popular, we need to prepare ourselves to face every challenge and grab every chance. That's the only thing we can do.

Chances are like meteors, they disappear in few seconds. You have to learn how to grab them quickly, because they won't stay in the sky and wait for you.

Ps: It's a pity that on last Friday, Yu Chun didn't win the competition. But he is getting a lot of invitations to perform all over the world.

My top 5 things I always use.

2010-02-02T23:15:00.006+08:00

I'm so honored that a popular and beautiful blogger Manju tagged me me to list 8 of my most worn things. Actually I like to be tagged, especially if the tags are funny. But I may not only write about my most worn things here, I would like to write more about them in the posts to come. I just want to share these things with you, hehe. So here are my top 5 most worn things. Ok, let's start with something I use a lot every day...

1. My glasses:

I am nearsighted, which means I can't see far objects well. It's not really bad, though (only -2.5 dioptry). It's a bit weird, that my eye sight has become better over the years. I even use a computer for over 8 hours a day, so I have no idea, how that's possible. I bought my latest frame from a Japanese online shopping website named Rakuten 楽天 and lucky for me it fits on my face perfectly, I didn't need to adjust it at all. I think these glasses make me look modern. What do you think?

2. Hand cream:

I usually use the hand cream of "Crabtree & Evelyn", but sometimes I would like to try other brands. Right now I'm using one from "Nature &Co", which belongs to KOSÉ (a famous Japanese brand). The one on the left one is "Florena", a German brand. I like "Florena" more, because the smell is really good and the cream is easier absorbed by the hands.

3. Necklace:

My most worn one is Dogeared "Make a wish" necklace. Well, I am the kind who seldom changes her necklace, no special reason but I'm probably just too lazy to change. So there will always be one and the same necklace on my neck, until it's worn out or damaged. Then I buy a new one. :-P

4. Umbrella:

An umbrella can't really be worn, but I always use it during sunny and rainy days. I bought my favorite umbrella from a handicapped man. He makes them and sells them by himself and all of them are handmade. His skills are really good, so his umbrellas are very strong and last for a long time, they even withstand a typhoon. I used his umbrellas for 3 years, and they were still good, but I lost one of them last week, so I bought another one again. :-P

5. Cheek make-up:

[ Source here.]

NARS!!!! The quality and colors are gorgeous! I already have 4 NARS blushes: Orgasm, Deep Throat, Crazed, and Outlaw. The next one will be "Mata Hari".

Let's stop here first, because I tend to write long posts and I don't want to bore you here, hehe. I'll share some others next time. Everyone who wants to do the tag, feel free to do it. Thank you for tagging me Manju, and for featuring me on your blog! I feel so appreciated!

What are your most worn things?

Yingge town, center of Taiwanese ceramics industry

2010-01-23T00:03:00.010+08:00

I would like to introduce my home town: Yingge town. (鶯歌鎮, 莺歌镇)

I was born here and I'm living here for over 30 years now. (Oops! Now you know my age.) Yingge town is famous for its ceramics and porcelain industry. How did Yingge's ceramics become famous?

"Pottery-making came to Yingge in 1804, when a man named Wu An emigrated here from mainland China and set up the first pottery business. Owing to its strategic position close to a plentiful supply of good-quality clay and the Dahan River (which in years past was deeper than it is today and offered convenient transport downriver to Taipei and the sea beyond), the pottery industry, and later the production of finer-quality ceramics, flourished. Today, exquisite objects d'art produced by the town's artisans is highly regarded by collectors. Indeed, one of the town's producers, Taihwa Pottery , regularly makes artistic pieces for the Presidential Office, which find their way in the form of gifts for visiting dignitaries to the world's four corners." [ Source here.]

We did not have any ceramicists in my family, but some of my classmates' did have them. When I was a little girl, the industry flourished at that time and a lot of pottery from Taiwan actually came from Yingge town. I remember I liked to pick up some faulty cups and plates near the pottery factories, because the factories would discard the imperfect ones, but the quality of some of those were still good, just the decoration was messed up or the color was not perfect, but apart from that, the ceramic was still good. Finding those faulty cups and plates was like a treasure hunting game for me, it was a lot fun.

Once a classmate brought ceramic scissors to class, they were white and delicate. We were all curious about them, so my classmate demonstrated how well they cut a paper. Wow, the scissors were really sharp, the cutting edge of the paper was flawless! And they were very safe to use. If you put your finger on the blade, you'd not cut yourself! However, there was a serious defect: If you were careless and accidentally dropped them, they would break and shatter into pieces immediately. I still don't understand why my classmate's family manufactured those scissors.

[ Source here.]

Because of the ceramics industry, our town was not so clean before. But our government helped to change Yingge into a tourist destination and my home town became beautiful and clean. On November 26, 2000, the Yingge Ceramics Museum was opened. I like it very much, because it looks so nice and it shows the whole ceramics history of Yingge town in form of a collection of all the products throughout from the beginnings some 200 years ago to the present time. Every time my friends ask me to show them around my home town, no doubt I would bring them to this museum, it's my most recommended spot here.

[ Source here.]

Besides the famous museum, I recommend the Old Street. It's a great spot for visitors to walk around. Many ceramic stores located there and they sell all kinds of products, such as tea pots, cups, bowls and plates, even ceramic art. The prices are very reasonable, some are very cheap. Many good restaurants are located there as well and they have a special tradition: If your eat there, you can take away the cups and plates, in which your meal was served, you don't need to pay extra for that. That's great, right?

[ Source here.]

There's another thing for you in Yingge: If you want to experience the famous scene from the movie "Ghost" (with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore), you can join a clay art course, there's many of them here. A professional craftsman will assist you in making a perfect plate, cup or bottle by yourself. And if you think your product is good, you can ask them to make it a ceramic for you, it will cost you very little.

Do you want to go on a short day trip away from Taipei city? Come to Yingge and have a nice day! Welcome to Yingge!

※ You also can read this articles:

The Pottery Town - Yingge:

My review of 2009 and resolution for 2010.

2010-01-13T10:51:00.012+08:00

This is my second English post. I still write rarely comparing to others, but I hope I can write at least one post a week. This is my target and I hope I can reach it every week this year. Last year I wrote my review of 2008 on my Chinese blog, but this year I decided to write the review of my 2009 here, as well as add my resolutions for 2010. It will be interesting to check my achievements by the end of the year and see, if things went the way I hoped they would. Sounds great! I'm someone who likes to set targets for herself and plan every step to achieve them.

The first part is my review of 2009. I think the most frequently used word last year for me must have been "busy". Yep, I was busy doing many things: I had a busy job, a busy leisure time, busy weekends. I think that's because I always want to finish everything the way I plan it before, so I kept myself busy working all the time, like a busy bee, hehe.

Here are some important things that happened to me in 2009:

1. My medical check was good.

Nothing written in red in medical my report, almost all my health related data is normal, that's great!

2. I could run 5 km at a time and didn't feel tired.

Actually, I didn't like jogging before, but I heard it could help me to make my thighs thinner, so I decided to try it. I started around mid July. I remember the first time I jogged, I felt like I'm dying right there on the street. So I thought it may be too hard for a beginner to jog on the street, the tempo seemed too fast for me. I had to make a change and the gym seemed to be a better place for me. I used the running machine, starting with a 20 minute quick walk. Now I can run 30 to 40 minutes and add another 20 minutes of quick walk and I still feel alright.

3. My project was finished on schedule and we received a formal certificate.

Well, this is related to my job. I participated in an important project in my company and the schedule was so tight, we only had a year to finish this big project, but all team members (over 600 people) had to play their parts well. At last, we finished it and recieved certificates.

4. I could touch the floor with my hands while bending down forward.

I know this may be so easy for most of you, but for me, it was impossible to do before 2008, although I started with yoga in 2005. My bones were so rigid! However, after having yoga twice a week throughout the whole 2009, I'm able do this easily now.

5. I said good-bye to my longest relationship.

I broke up in November. There were tons of memories, lots of photos and happy times in the almost 9 years long relationship. However, I finally realized that we couldn't go on like that and that we can't have a future together, so I broke up with him soon after my birthday.

In addition to my 2009 review, I'd like to set up some goals for my 2010, because it's a whole new year for me. Here are some of the things I hope will happen:

1. I want to be with "someone" and have a great time with him in my lovely Taiwan.

This is the most important thing this year, be it now, be it later this year, most likely forever.

2. Save money every month.

I hope I can visit a lovely country in Europe. That means I have to buy less clothes, make-up products, shoes and bags. (weep)

3. Learn more Japanese and get the 3rd degree of JPLT .

I already got the basic 4th degree, I wish I can make a little progress.

4. Keep healthy.

I wish the report of my medical check this year will also turn out good.

5. Cherish my "someone" and my family.

I love all of them. I wish 2010 would be one of their best years.

[ Photos Source: My Great Photographer friend : Kovis ]

10 honest things about me that you may find interesting.

2010-01-05T23:41:00.017+08:00

This post is my first English post, god knows I am so afraid to write a post in English. Because I DID NOT DO IT BEFORE. Actually, I don't think my English is good enough to write a blog post, but my teacher Nino encouraged me to create my own English blog, and tagged me with the "10 honest things", therefore, I decided to try to write it in English. I still don't have much confidence that I can write it well, but I'll try my best. I hope you all could understand my post. :-P

First time I saw this topic, I didn't know what to write. After reading Nino's, Shingo T's and Toothfairy's posts, and after I asked my English teacher for his advice, I decided to confess the following 10 honest things about me:

1. I was a chubby girl before. In Chinese tradition, elders always think it's good for children to eat all kinds of food, despite the amount. I wasn't a choosy girl, I liked to eat all kinds of food. Glad I have an absorbable body, so it was easy for me to absorb the nutrition of the food I ate, including the calories. I gained 10 kg a year from my 3rd grade. When I graduated from 6th grade, I was the fattest girl in my class and I had 63kg at that time. When I went to junior and senior high school, things got worse. I increased my weight to the highest weight in my life to 75 kg. I'm only 163 cm, but I was 75 kg at that time, my weight caused a hard time for me, because I was teased and taunted all the time.

2. In relation to the above, since I was 17 years old, I finally realized that my weight would become a serious problem to have good relationship, so I started to work out and slowly lost my weight. I've already lost over 20 kg with dieting and exercising, and now I try my best to keep fit.

3. I am not good in mathematic, science and physics. However, I majored in computer science in my college. I should admit it was hard for me to fight with codes, statistic and calculus. Moreover, I almost couldn't get my diploma and may have to repeat the 4th year. Nevertheless, after I graduated, I worked for some famous company as an IT engineer, and now I'm still an engineer. However, I still can't program at all.

4. Seems I am good at managing relationships. I still have connections with my ex colleagues, although I have changed my jobs four times. I've known my ex colleagues of first company for 10 years already. Moreover, I had two long-term relationships, too. I and my first ex's relationship lasted nearly 4 years; with my previous ex the relationship lasted nearly 9 years.

5. In relation to the above, I go to GYM for nearly 9 years already, at least twice a week. Exercise already became a vital part of my life.

6. I like soft toys. I have many soft dolls like hello kitties, bears, pigs, dogs... Although I am not a young girl anymore (a 30 something woman), I still like soft toys. They make me feel comfortable and relaxed.

7. We have a cute longhair dachshund. His name is Chestnut; Chinese pronunciation is "Li Zi (栗子)". He is a lively dog, has stable temper, and likes to be close to people. However, he fears to be close to other dogs, even if the size of the dog is smaller than his size. I guess Li Zi may think he is a human not a dog.

8. Some people say I look like a Taiwanese aborigine, others say I look like a bit like Thai or Philippine. Some people say I look like Jolin Tsai or Cindy Wang (even my mother told me that) and some people say I look like one of their friends. Well, however I look like or, that's who I am.

9. I once got the highest score in English during my junior high school time and I was also a tutor for geography, history, Chinese and English in my class. I relied on these subjects to raise my test sum scores. Because my math was so bad, one of my worst math scores was 18 and the second worst was 36 (I even thought there was some progress, because my scores doubled!!).

10. I seldom have good female friends, but I have some good male friends. Sometimes I feel it's a bit hard to get along with girls, but much easier to get along with guys. In addition, my mom usually says my character is like a man and I also have a dark skin and she says my brother's character is like her, and he has a fair skin. Therefore, I guess my parents must make a mistake, the sex of my brother and mine got mixed up: I should be male, and my brother should be female.

Pheww... I finished. Hope you can understand my first post in English, it was really hard for me. I don't want to tag anyone, but I think I will write it again in Chinese and post at my Chinese blog. :-P

I didn't mean it…=.=

2009-11-05T12:44:00.001+08:00

I wear different shoes today…
God! How can I be so stupid today? What happened to me? :'(

Eventually, it's a sunny day.

2009-10-16T11:37:00.002+08:00

Today is sunny day again, after the 2 weeks rainy days, Ms. Sunny back lo!