Eating clean.

So if people who are reading this don't already know, I've been eating clean (attempting to, but still with a few slip ups along the way) for about 5 months now. It's was hard to begin with initially, suddenly switching from rice and meat (which I have practically grown up eating) to well, protein, fruits and vegetables. The first month was the toughest, with cravings of all my favourite foods coming into my mind at all times, especially when I'm holding a cup of blended spinach and avocado juice :/ 

Eventually though, after educating myself better with the whole eating clean lifestyle, I realized that it doesn't mean I've to totally cut out whatever I used to it, all I had to do was do it in moderation. So I was happy again! Anyways, long story short, it's been one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life. That and the decision to exercise and make it a routine instead of a short-term thing.

What inspires and continues to motivate me most is the fact that most of my friends are now resolving to eating clean and exercising more as well and they say it's because of me. It's just a very proud feeling when you get told things like that. And I'm glad to say that I feel really happy to be able to motivate people around me to do things that will benefit them. 

So anyways, I've been experimenting a lot with different sorts of foods and sometimes, when I have the time, I even decorate them nicely to make it presentable and pretty, because to me, pretty food = happy tummy! These are just a few of the things I've been having as of late.

Teddy bears asleep in the forest.

Best smoothie recipe EVER!

Simple but cute peanut butter toast (:

Experimental smoothie that turned out DELICIOUS!

Alright then, that's it for now. Hopefully I'll be able to continue sustaining this lifestyle because honestly, I think the food cravings have now gone and I look forward to my clean meals every day. I also have cheat meals on the weekends to help balance things out! After all, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, right?

xoxo, elvyna.

First snow.

So today it snowed for the first time in Southampton in about.. 2 years? Was a pretty sight, at least from where I was standing in the warmth of my own room with the heater turned on. Decided to go to the backyard with some friends and attempt to make a snowman. Thus the pic above.

Snow can be very calming. Being alone with snowflakes falling all around me blanketing everything in sight in white was beautiful. In fact, I don't even know how to describe how I felt without feeling like I did justice to it. It's just awesome.

What's not so awesome is the fact that in a few days time, maybe even tomorrow, the snow is gonna melt and turn icy and slippery and people are going to fall over and injure themselves. I might even fall over. Let's hope that doesn't happen.

Oh well. For now, I'll forget the worries of the world, make a cuppa hot tea and sit by the window to watch the snow fall and drown everything in sight with all its glory and be in awe of His creation.

xoxo, elvyna.

Malta; Summer break.

Malta was so much fun especially with the company. Now its back to the reality of Final Year and hospital placements. If only time passed slower on holidays and quicker on placements.

xoxo, elvyna.

Isle of Wight.

So I'm on my 5th week now of Medicine in Practice (MiP) placement at St Mary's Hospital in the Isle of Wight. Things have been going great. Ended last week with a bang at the GP practice I was in for 2 weeks. Did really well on the assessment at the end and my GP was very pleased with me. That's a good start right? (:

Anyways, here are some pics of the island and stuff when the boy came down over the weekends to see me.

The hospital;s main entrance.

Us starting our adventure day (:

Yarmouth Harbour. Pretty sailboats. I want one too if the weather was nicer in England!

The Needles Park, Alum Bay. Pretty lousy gloomy day.

Chairlift down Needles Park :/ Steep!

Olympic Torch relay at the Park. Tried to get away from the crowd of people there.

Ventnor Pier.

Ventnor Beach. Rocks galore.

Local island-made ice cream (: I must've had this like 3-4 times now since I've been on the island.

The Spyglass Inn for lunch/dinner. Recommended by Michelin (:

His: Oriental Style Beef. Super yummy.

Mine: Half lobster with New Potatoes. Fresh lobster. YUM YUM (:

Walking along the coloured sand beach on Ventnor.

Finished the day off with a slice of Chocolate Indulgence from Chocolate Apothecary in Ryde (my GP place).

All in all, a very exciting but short weekend spent on visiting places and eating (: Weather could've been better (Was pretty scary when it started pouring as we were on the chairlift), but I'm not complaining, we still got around.

Missing the boy already. Oh wells..

xoxo, elvyna.

Weekend of food (:

The past weekend was an awesome one. Went back to Southampton to spend some time with the boy. Made lots of nice yummy food to make up for the dull, bland food I had during the week of Anaesthetic placement in the Isle of Wight.

Also had a lovely time starting and finishing a Singapore drama series called The Oath about doctors with the boy. Gosh, talk about drama marathon. The ending of the series was a bit sad though :( Anyways, here are the pics of the food we had over the weekend.

Dinner: Mint Lamb meatballs penne pasta with garlic bread and belleverde broccoli.

Breakfast: Ham on garlic bread with hard boiled egg.

Also baked two loaves of Chocolate Raspberry banana bread/cake to munch on while watching the series. Gave the other loaf to the boy to bring to placements.

My tummy has had a happy weekend (:

Now back to a week of GP placements and tasteless repetitive meals everyday!

xoxo, elvyna.

The story of Boo.

Once upon a time, there were a bunch of bears in IKEA. Cute, big, fluffy giant teddys (well, not so giant but huggable-sized ones). 

Then one day, the boy bought me one and the rest is history! Lol. What a short story, I know. Well, Boo is sort of the best gift he's given me (not saying I don't like the piano or the watch) but Boo is so cute I just, I don't know. He's so soft and cuddly I've fallen asleep on his head (using his head as a pillow) a couple of times already. 

I also brought him on board with me (people can stare all they want!) in my flight back home from the UK and boy oh boy, I slept a full 8 hours without waking up at all! (might have something to do with the pills I took but let's put that aside). Adorable giler! Ahh. This is like such a random post but oh well, random is sometimes good!

Signing off with pics of Boo and I when I just got him! He was much softer then compared to now due to excessive hugging (:

Boo and I.

xoxo, elvyna.

The best day of the year (:

And finally, it's Christmas day. My favourite-st day of the year. What's not to like about Christmas? (: The only downside is I'm celebrating it without my friends and family, but hey, the true reason to celebrate Christmas still remains. Thanking God for everything He's done in my life all these years. Christmas is just a wonderful reminder to my purpose in life.

Now let me go listen to christmas songs on repeat while dancing dorkily to myself in the living room eating gingerbread men and sipping tea.

Aaah (:
Mr Snowman next to my orchid (:

Just a lil Christmas song that sums everything up (:

Have a blessed Christmas everyone! Love ya'll <3

xoxo, elvyna.

Snack time.

A couple of days ago I got my monthly ASOS magazine and it included a voucher for a free box of snacks from graze.com. So being the chinese I am (hey, who doesn't like free stuffs, right?) I checked it out and rated the foods I liked and didn't on the website. It's such a cool concept i'm still impressed till now.

So I got my first box in the mail today. It is THE prettiest customised anything snack box I've ever seen! It even comes with a card that states the nutritional values of the stuffs in the box. Impressed yet? Anyways, even the packaging is bubbling over with cuteness so much so that I don't even feel like eating it anymore! (kinda defeats the purpose of getting it I know -_-)

It's a weekly thing so now there's something for me to look forward to every Saturday morning! And the insides (of the snackbox) changes every week too based on what I rate on the website. How cool is that? (:

It's amazing how this snackbox is making my day! (: *munches away*

xoxo, elvyna.