Futsal Thursday Nights at Springers Leisure Centre

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Mr. C plays futsal (indoor soccer) on Thursday evenings at Springers Leisure Centre. 

What I find amazing is every week without fail, Mr. C will ask if I would like to follow him and watch his team play. Even knowing that my answer would 95% of the time be a resounding 'No', he still asks. Not just once on Thursday itself but multiple times throughout a day.

Yes, it can be annoying to a degree but his perseverence just astounds me. And even when I've said, 'no' once in the morning, he might try his luck again on the way home without missing a beat, without being upset with my rejection, without being impatient and asked me hopefully to follow him for futsal.

Sometimes, I'll give in to his hopeful, sad puppy look. Like last night.

The team has come a long way from when it first started last year. At the beginning, it was a mismatch of team members. Some did not know how to play or had never played much but join for the week just to help Mr. C out in filling the numbers to make a team.

However, as the weeks and months passed, he slowly gained a few keen joiners to the team who actually do play futsal as a hobby and passion bringing their skills to the table. Josh, my former Form 4 & 5 classmate was one of them. Then, there is JL, the hubby of my uni mate, Kitt. Both Malaysians who had migrated to Melbourne. 

Then, there is Vboy, a Vietnamese born in Melbourne whom Mr. C met at Springers itself. Somehow they got to talking and he must like Mr. C's friendly demeanor because he joined the team. Gyuri (a nickname) another Aussie (the guy in no.3 jersey in Picture 3 above who shoved his butt in front of my camera just as I clicked the shutter button). Mr. C met him from his Tuesday night futsal matches near home. Once again, it must be Mr. C's pleasant outlook because they got to talking and Gyuri played a couple of matches with Mr. C's team on Thursday nights and eventually became another solid member.

A, PRC colleague has been part of the team from day one. A man of few words, couple of months down the track, he was looking to quit the team. As mentioned earlier, before Josh, JL, Vboy and Gyuri joined, many of the earlier team members were just there as a favour to Mr. C and couldn't really play. Every week, the team was losing consistantly.

I think I will be an Asian mother in future when I have kids 'cos I'll always jokingly tell Mr. C not to come home if he didn't' win the match hoping to spur or motivate him to play better and perhaps score a victory for the team. It is a good thing that Mr. C ignored my joke as they just didn't make it week after week.

But the past season, they have been playing well and it's only a matter of time before they win a medal.

So, lesson learnt, no matter what you do and in everything that you do, persevere and keep forging on. Don't blame life or God or someone or something else when things fail. Failure is part and parcel of life. Everyone goes through failures. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. It's not a cliche, it's the truth. 

And once you are done sulking about your mishaps, pick yourself up and try again. Keep trying till you succeed. With all the attempts, you are bound to succeed. Chin up and keep on going! :)

Homemade : Mr. C's Chicken Parmagiana

I think, Mr. C took after his dad. Traditional family usually sees the mother cooking wholesome meals for the family. In modern times, it can be the father or even the children!

First Chicken Parmagiana I had was when I visited Melbourne in 2007and Sally brought us to La Roche in St Kilda. The chicken parma was amazeballs! Can't be sure what transpired Mr. C to try his hand at this but he did and we've had it twice and once more with his parents around.

For the price you pay for one outside at the shops, you can easily make a meal for four people! Not just that, it's just as yummy and possibly, even yummier! 

Definitely one of Mr. C's specialties. Not only am I blessed with a patient hubby, I am also blessed with one who likes to test his culinary skills every so often. 

Instagram : DIY Chicken Parmagiana

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I was first introduced to Chicken Parmigiana aka Chicken Parma when I visited Australia in 2007. 

Sally brought Mr. C and I to La Roche in St. Kilda and I still remember for $15 we had a huge portion of Chicken Parmigiana burying a mountainful of chips with salad on the side. This deal also includes a drink - beer, soft drink or wine. 

Pretty good deal I must say. La Roche has cheap meal deals on certain days. Check out their menu HERE to decide which days to go to take advantage of their meal deals.

Ok, enough about La Roche.

Chicken Parma is a southern Italian baked dish of meat topped with ham, tomato sauce and cheese.

Today for dinner, Mr. C baked Chicken Parmigiana for our dinner. It was fairly straightforward and easy to do. He went out about 3 ish in the noon to grocery shop. We usually go together but I wasn't feeling up to it today. He reckons he can take his time to see certain items he usually doesn't have the luxury to when I am around 'cos he is trying to distract me from the chips and chocolate aisle. LOL.

He bought five chicken thigh schnitzels for $6 from the meat deli at Rowville Shopping Centre. He then headed to Coles and bought melt to cheese and the Parma sauce. All in all, this dish cost both of us less than $20 which we had for dinner and lunch at work the next day!

Can't wait to make this again. Super enjoyed our meal!

Before stuffed into the oven

Post baking, check out the melted cheese! *slurp*

Happy 13th Anniversary!!

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13 is infamously unlucky

but not for us

13 years since we first met
meaning 13 years together
13 years of ups and downs
13 years and still,
we're together

Thank you for having such a big heart,

a heart full of love,

a heart full of affection

Constant affirmation

and for being with me despite it all.

Here's to many, many more
lovey dovey moments
annoying one another moments
working on our relationship moments
and most importantly,
growing old together moments!

HAPPY 13TH ANNIVERSARY dearest!


At Jimbo & Rex in Crown, Southbank for a simple anniversary dinner

Beer & coke

Dudes at the bar

Lightbulbs up there

Us 

AUD10 for a meal and a drink, we had YUM Chicken Parma!

Followed by oh-so-divine ice cream at Il Dolce Freddo in Lygon

Conversation #7 at Dandenong Market

 

 

 

On a hot Saturday at Dandenong Market, we were so thirsty we just had to have a drink.

Mr. C : What do you want to drink?

Me : Can I have the Immune Booster without the apple and lemon?

Mr. C : @_@"

High school sweetheart

Had tea at Jacaranda Tree Cafe after a trip to Koorong. The shepherd's pie and scones were yummy!! Relaxed ambiance here but I reckon you get more elderly patronage here. Just a nice, relaxing Saturday arvo (Aussie slang for afternoon).

Conversations #5

 

In the car on the way home from Chadstone, Mr. C exclaimed about the clouds in the sky.

Mr. C : Look at the clouds. Doesn't it remind you of the ones in the Simpsons?

*he then proceed to sing 'The Simpsons'*

Me :  >__<"

Ok. It was funny when he said it there and then. My apologies for sucking at recounting an event or a joke. Oh well, practice makes perfect. I'll keep telling till I get it right one day! :)

Hopefully you'll bear with me till then. Lols.

Funny conversations with Mr. C #1

I have had loads of funny, or rather, corny conversations with Mr. C through this past year. 

Many a times I told myself I would blogged about it only to forget the conversation. This led me to jot down snippets of conversations in my little notebook I carry in my bag all the time and yet, I'd forget to blog about them. 

Off late, I have resorted to typing them into my Sammie 2 but the conversations have yet to seen daylight... till now.

Before I had the chance to start a new trend (blogging the funny things Mr. C says), Fatty (that's what his wife calls him) aka Timothy Tiah aka co-founder of Nuffnang (revolutionising blogging and online advertisement) stole my genius of an idea and has blogged on numerous occasions about things he and his Shorty (aka Audrey, his wife) of fourfeetnine say to each other.

As of 6th January, he has blogged in total 74 conversations between Fatty and Shorty!

Dang!

Now, I'd appear to be a 'copycat'er for doing likewise. :(

Well, I guess, it is always better late than never, right?

So, here's mine.. Conversation #1

This past year, I  make it a point to ask people I am close to for their favourite colour. I believe it is the most basic 'must know' fact about a friend. After I whatsapped my new best bud from Sydney, Y2, the following conversation took place between Mr. C and me.

Me : Dear ar... what's your favourite colour? *thinking it must be brown*

Mr. C : Your skin colour.

Me : What the....  @_@"

Birthday dinner at Conservatory in Crown Casino

This is a long overdue post. Mr. C's birthday was in August and I wanted to do something special for him this year. Last year, I threw him a surprise party that ended up not being a surprise. Long story short, we both suck at surprising each other 'cos we just can't keep secrets from one another. LOL.

So, we made our way to Conservatory that is located on Level 1 of Crown Towers for their much acclaimed buffet spread. I heard that it has been recently renovated and it sure does look posh and modern.

The high ceilings and white padded chairs gave the Conservatory it's regal ambiance. Another highlight would be the view of the river and CBD. From my experiences with buffet, I was expecting a bigger spread or rather a bigger area with more food laid out.

Starting off with seafood

I guess they were emphasising on quality rather than quantity. I definitely can taste the quality in the sushi (which I don't usually eat much 'cos if it ain't fresh, it really isn't smart to put in one's mouth) and seafood!

Mr. C really enjoyed himself that's for sure. He went for helpings after helpings of seafood and especially oysters. He's a HUGE fan of oysters, I tell you. :)

Happy man on his happy birthday

Bread sticks of sorts that we didn't touch, saving space for greater things ;p

 

The pancake duck was alright but definitely can't a hold a torch to the one we had at Simon's Peking Duck in Box Hill!! Dim Sum was alright. So, there was the seafood spread on one side together with the sushis and cold platters.

And on the other side is where the Asian spread is together with the dessert station.