Here's another challenge from Scrap & Stamp Saturday!

Hi folks! Hope your weekend was good! I had a lovely time yesterday coz my mum decided she could cope with both my son and daughter with her. I switched on the air conditioning in my scrap room, sat on my son's ergonomic table and chair and scrapped the day away! It was just the opposite feeling of the past couple days! Ms Mojo came back with a swirl and swish of her pretty skirts and I was ... OOOOOHHHHH!!!

So here's the challenge this week and I hope as many of you as possible can join as there's a really fantabulous prize up for grabs!!

Thanks for joining us for another Scrap and Stamp challenge! It is hard to believe we are so close to Christmas! I am not even close to being ready...what about you? So I am going to get right to it...lol!
Since this is the season of family and gatherings that is what we want to see. All you need to do is scrap a gathering (any type will do) and use at least one stamp!
Creations by Penny is our fabulous sponsor this week! If you haven't been by Penny's shop you should stop by and see her adorable designs!
Here are the fabulous design teams "gatherings" layouts! They amaze me each and every week with their beautiful creations!

Here's mine! I decided to go with a vintage gathering LO as this is a season for celebrations, remembering and forgiving, love and sharing, gathering of memories old and new!

Has Ms Mojo gone on a holiday?

Where did my mojo go? Holiday? If its even possible! Hahahaha! I'm just not in a scrapping mood. I seem to have lost Ms Mojo to a holiday hiatus. Hmmmm how did that happen? Does anyone of you scrappers out there face this problem?
I tried. I really did. And I actually scrapped my LO. As in threw it out.
Sigh......................... :(

It's all about you! Or me! Or you??!

Right! Here's an all new challenge from Scrap & Stamp Challenge for a whole new challenge this week!

Thank you for another fabulous Scrap and Stamp challenge! Now that the Christmas Holiday season is in full swing and we are hustling and bustling about to find the perfect gift for that someone special, we thought we would take a moment to share a little about what makes us special! And we definitely have a team full of special gals right here!
The challenge this week is "All About Me: With at least one stamp." If you are like me most of my scrapbook pages hold pictures of other people and their triumphs and stories. Very seldom do we get to see the person behind the camera and the face of all that special handwritten journaling. Now is your chance. We want you to do a page totally about you. It can be when you were little or big, about what makes you tick, heck we'll even take what makes you sick LOL We just want to know you and what better way than for you to take the opportunity to leave a little bit of you on a page.Our sponsor this week is the fabulous Say It With Letters! If you haven't been to the store be sure to stop by and check out all the wood letters, chipboard and more. Be sure to stop by the craft blog and say Hi!!One lucky participant will receive an 8 inch Mixed letter spelling "Jolly" in our chunky and cute Swedish Fish lettering style. PLEASE NOTE YOU WILL RECEIVE UNFINISHED LETTERS. PHOTOS SHOWN ARE EXAMPLES OF WHAT YOU CAN CREATE. A $20.00 value.

So before you run off to create a fabulous layout for this weeks challenge be sure to check out the design teams wonderful creations!

Here's mine!

My poor neglected blog!

Have been missing... Not by choice... Sick since my trip and sick one week since... Sigh... Whole year never even a sniffle, then I go on a holiday and I fall sick the whole darn trip!! What luck!!

Anyway, here's the weekly challenge from Scrap and Stamp and there's a 15pound gift certificate from the generous owner of Bunny Zoe's Craft for the winner! So come on by and join the fun. You never know if you're gonna be picked!!

Here's the challenge :

Thanks for joining us for another Scrap and Stamp challenge! We hope you all had a wonderful Thankgiving this week filled with family and friends! We thank you all for taking the time to play along with us during such a busy week!
The challenge this week is "fall traditions with at least one stamp." We all have traditions that we carry on with, so we want to see them large and small! Our sponsor this week is the fabulous Bunny Zoe's Crafts! If you haven't been to the Bunny Zoe's store be sure to stop by and check out all that Nikki offers.

Challenge at Groovie Cover Girls

There's also another challenge going on at Groovie Cover Girls. It's a fun challenge with a RAK prize for the winner. Our "leader" Ed, has gone and gotten a cover that was so simple and yet so challenging! So I challenge you to go and whip up a LO that's as interesting as the one Ed picked!! Here's mine!

Finally I can share this news!

Would like to shout this out!! Hee hee hee!
I've been selected for Scrap and Stamp Saturday to be part of their wonderful design team! They are a scrapping and stamping community who just love their stamps and scraps! (as do I, of course!)

From the blog of Scrap and Stamp Saturday
It is time for the announcement everyone has been waiting for!
First I would like to say thank you to everyone who applied to be on the design team. I so wish that I could have chosen each and everyone of you. I really hope that you will apply again the next go around. This was truly a tough decision to narrow the pool down to just six. After several days of blog hopping and hopping again it was finally time to decide. I am honored to introduce you to the new members of the Scrap and Stamp team. We are completely thrilled to have them with us. You all are in for a treat with their beautiful work!
Hollie Smallwood
Tamara Bennett
Cariena Basson
Lacey Stephens
Shirley Yow
Isolde Pyncket
They will be joining the existing team of
Boni Boutelle-Jones
Pamela Young
Shana Tedrick
Regina Jones

Thank you S&SS!

Then and Now

Reflections

Then and now. What a difference. And so fast. She's already 9months now and getting into so many things! Her big brother's truck is also fair play for her. She squeezed herself in and tried to get it to move and ended up toppling the whole truck over and her little head banged!

Then she decided that the night view was good and started her "King Kong" climb up the chair, table and finally the "pinnacle" of the "Empire State Building"!! What a little monkey. And she scaled it so fast!

Finally Dad decided that he needed to teach the little on how to build with the bricks. I hope she does not become too tom boyish cos the mummy wanted to save costs and space and decided to let the little girl play with "boy toys"!! But apparently, she loves the boy toys and can repeatedly play with Big Bro's toys over and over and over. And it helps that Big Bro seems interested in his little boy's toys again and is usually playing with the little sister. How sweet eh?!!

I'm back in circulation!

Hahaha! I just had to use that as a title! Vision still a little blur. But that's cos the 'scab' on the eyes have not fallen out yet. (just like the scab you get when you fall and get cut) At least the pain's not there anymore.
Apparently, I was over sensitive to the temporary lens that they put into my eyes. I was in severe pain over the weekend and Monday was hell! It was probably the worst day of my life - in terms of physical pain that is. I could not open my eyes for more than half a minute. Each time I tried to open my eyes for a longer time, the stinging pain would force me to close and tears just kept dripping. I was also so sensitive to light that I had to hide in the darkened room almost the whole day.
Misery was my companion and I was moaning and groaning about why I had to choose beauty over life and all that nonsense. Luckily, I was at my mother in law's place and they helped me to handle my little one. Otherwise, I'd have "died" of pain and exhaustion! Phew! It was torture I never wanted to go through ever again!
At least it's over now even though its gonna take me another 2 weeks before I can safely drive. It'll be another couple days before my vision clears up and I can really SEE without any aid for the first time in 20 plus years!!!!! Yipee!!!

Lasik over and done with....

Finally. Done. Over. But the healing process goes on... I'm still tearing and there's some slight pain. But according to doc, it went as well as it possibly could.
After a series of pre-op check up, I was found to be unsuitable to do the more common LASIK ops. My eyeballs were asymmetrical due to chronic contact lens wearing. I had to undergo another procedure called Epi Lasik. It was a less common procedure as it had a longer healing time and post op was more painful than Lasik. However, it was less invasive than Lasik as it did not involve the removing of the cornea to laser the eye. The exact procedure or differences of the two is simply beyond my understanding! (as of now, cos the pain and the near blurness of my current vision now does not make me feel like checking out the differences!)
I now have a lens in each of my eye to protect the tender surface of the eyeball. They will be removed in 3 to 4 days time. The whole procedure took about 10mins and that was due to the doc having to prepare the eye for the laser itself. The actual lasering took only a couple seconds and like my friend said, it was probably the most expensive operation ever for such a quick procedure!! It was pretty scary actually to allow someone to invade your eyes like that. But in actual fact, there was not really enough time for the scary feeling to take over. By the time the surgeon was done, the scary feeling had not even had time to develop! Hahahaha! So on the second day when the other eye was to be done, all feeling of nervousness was more or less over cos the procedure was fairly quick and painless.
So now, I'm still in slight stinging pain (only occasionally, not constant pain) and the blurness is still there but at least I can see without any eye aid. That has gotta be the best feeling in the world after wearing glasses and contacts for almost 20 years!
Need to stop now cos the tearing is starting. Will have brand new eyes in a week's time! Yipeeeee!!!!

Does this look like a Balinese Spa Resort?

GORGEOUS ain't it?? I love love coming here. It's actually my husband's 3rd anutie's house in Malaysia. They completed it only last year after quite a number of years in the making. The house is really really seriously HUGE!! It was designed in the Balinese resort spa style and the theme runs throughout the whole house. There are heavy wooden tables, chairs, "trees" (for lack of a better word), pots, etc! Even the entrance to the main house is flanked by 2 ponds and a wooden bridge to walk across. As we drive in, the wooden pavillion (pic right at the top) greets us with its sparkling fountains and creatively built ponds. The pavillion is used for relaxation and playing mahjong when the mood suits them. Sometimes it does get a little too hot outside and we escape into the cool of the house. Only problem I see with the house is that the seats have no sofas. It's all completely wooden and pretty uncomfortable at times! But this is just a minor inconvenience in the splendor of the house itself!

Even the furniture itself is mostly imported from Bali and other parts of Malaysia. Impressive huh??! Wait till you actually have a chance to GO there to see it! Jaws will literally smack the hot asphalt!

Groovie Cover Challenge

Here's the cover...

Here's my take!

123 Smile*

This is my first debut at Groovie Cover and here's my take! Come join in the fun and there's a RAK from one of the Groovie Girls!

Stickles Stickles Everywhere!

Special Girl

To make a "wavey" ribbon like this without a sewing machine, (I have one, but just too lazy to take it out for a little bitty ribbon!) just thread your needle and do a quick stitch through the ribbon. No worries about whether the stitch is straight or not, just pull it slightly when you're done and sew through the end of the ribbon and knot it.

There's no need to paint chipboards when there's prettily coloured stickles like these!

No more plain felted birdie. Just squeeze some stickles and voila! There's your pretty little birdie with eyes and wings!

Another plain felted chipboard tree. (which I also felted myself, like the birdie) Used green stickles and dotted it all over the tree. Gives it more omphh! Don't ya think so??!!

Lipstick Accident (Really funny one!!)

LIPSTICK DISASTER!!

Check out the trail of lipstick on the floor all the way to her clothes and face and hands and hair and goodness knows where else!!

She was still playing and smearing the lipstick all over herself and the floor!

I knew the lil lady had already woken up. She padded into the hall while I was at the computer. I chose to ignore her coz I had spent an hour persuading her back to sleep and she refused to sleep. So she found her own entertainment. I heard her mumbling with the occasional yell thrown in. Finally, after about almost 5 minutes of loud mutterings, I decided I'd better get up and see what she was up to. THIS was what I found!! Too dumbfounded to react, I just stared at her for half a minute. She knew she was in serious trouble and was whimpering away with those little cat like noises. I didn't know if I should cry or laugh but I ended up laughing SO LOUDLY and woke the whole family up. Told daddy to grab the camera and I laughed so hard that many of the pics I took ended up quite blur! These were the best to showcase her LIPSTICK DISASTER!!

THE AFTERMATH

I love how she isn't afraid of water even when I sprayed it all over her head and face. It took 3 rounds of soap and 4 rounds of water to completely clean her of the lipstick and smell! Happy and clean at last! I laughed all through the washings! I had to hold back the laughter cos she was getting perplexed as to why I started laughing each time I looked at her. She was beginning to get scared even though I was laughing probably cos she never saw me laughing when she got into trouble like that. Hahahahahaha!

Laines "Stickles" Challenge

At Play

Again another LO for a challenge at Laines Gallery. But their gallery is not up yet for this challenge so just have 'ta wait!

Yummylicious Food and a Rockin' layout!

Stir Fried Udon

Just a couple of days ago, I fried this. I was out of ideas for dinner. Found a 3 pack udon in the fridge. Took out the baby corn, carrots, cabbage, smoked bacon and a tin of vegetarian Lo Han Chai. Yummy! Husband, son and daughter loved it so much that even though it was a huge pot, they finished it all up!

Family Together

I completed this LO in just one night. I was actually inspired by Georgina's LO for the Groovie Cover Girls October challenge. I didn't realize it at that time I saw it that it was actually for this challenge, so I scraplifted it and lo and behold, I can now enter the challenge! Hee hee!

Kukup Kelong Trip

Brandon holding onto 2 starfish

Standing on the rickety planks of the kelong
Holding out fish food for the Archer Fish to aim at!

Family fun at the kelong

At Kukup Kelong having lunch

It was a super hot Sunday afternoon in Pontian, Johor. We didn't want to cook for such a large number of people so we all decided to go to the pretty well known and popular Kukup seafood restaurant. It was only a short 20min drive from the uncle's house in Pontian Besar to Kukup. At the restaurant, the view was so nice and breezy and everything was a new experience for the young ones. (the adults too!) We took pictures of pretty much everything and posed everywhere "posable"! Hahahaha! The lunch was mostly seafood and there were around 12 dishes for the 10 adults and 2 kids and 1 baby. The bill? RM$230!! What a reasonable price for such a sumptuous lunch!

After lunch, the "suaku" Singaporeans decided to take a ferry to the kelongs (fish farms) at sea. There, we stopped at the kelong and walked along the rickety wooden planks. It was pretty scary for those who have "land feet" as the locals called the land lubbers! My sister in law was pretty terrified and my husband had to hold her hand and helped her across the planks. Her own husband was helping her equally terrified son across the planks! Luckily, my son found his "sea feet" after a while as I had to carry Brianna across the planks.

There were some interesting stuff to see. The guide pulled out a horseshoe crab and flipped it upside down so we could look at it without it scuttling away. Then we saw the uncannily accurate shot of the archer fish as they shot out squirts of water to hit the fish food. Baby sharks, starfish, jellyfish and a dried out puffer fish completed the interesting tour.

Well, this trip was really meant for the city kids. We hardly have a chance to see all these things first hand and even if we do, it's always through a glass window and they are usually not allowed to touch anything. This time, the boys had fun feeding the archer fish and touching the starfish and the shark. They also saw a jellyfish up close. It was really fun and educational even though we all had a pretty bad sunburn!

Hey! I've got inspiration!

Autumn Leaves 2008 Design Calender

Sweet as a Berry

Together Moments

So Happy Together

Finally! I've done something! Enjoy!

Zzz...ZZzz...zzZ...zz...

Been sleeping on the blog. (as in "sleeping on the job") I have been scrapping. Really! I have! Scrapped! But simply too lazy to take photos and post. Hee hee! I sometimes wonder how all those wonderful gals out there cope with kids, husband, work, chores, scrap, blog, chat... I can barely cope with any of the above 2!
I seem to be fluctuating with the weather. Weird. That about describes the weather and me. Sometimes, I wake up in the morning and I see the sun shining through my window and I think... Hmmmm... wash clothes. THEN, when the load goes in, the soap goes in and the timer is set and the water starts to flow... I look out the window again and the sky is so dark I need to switch on the lights! What is wrong with our weather here??!! Does anyone else wonder too? But this weird thing happens only when I wash clothes. It never happens when I decide to sleep in late and not wash today. Then the sun is shining brighter than my daughter's eyes when she sees food!
Murphy's Law. My husband says. Why does it only apply to me? Traffic is green and smooth flowing when I'm early and wouldn't mind a few red lights. Traffic is red and the cab driver decides to stop in front of me to pick up passengers when I'm so late I dont even dare look at the time anymore.
Then, there was this weird thing that happened to me. I stopped at a light and there was this cab right beside me on the left. He seemed impatient to be off and zoomed off when the lights turned green. THEN he made an abrupt left turn and STOPPED right in front of me!!! I could not move and he kept raising his hand to apologise to me. I waited a couple seconds to see what he wanted. He didn't seem to want to move and I finally horned at him. Twice. He got angry and made a rude sign which I immediately copied back at him. What a ridiculous idiot! WHY did he have to make a left turn when there was a left filter lane? WHY did he have to be the 1st off the light when there was no car behind us at all? (He could have waited for me to move off before making his crazy move) WHY did he have to turn left and STOP in front of me? WHY couldn't he just move off? WHY did he have to make the rude sign at me when he was the one who was in the wrong? That is why I have utterly no respect for cabs on the road. I know that dumb @$%#* like him are the black sheep in an industry that already has a bad rep. I know that most cab drivers are nice fellows who tolerate drivers like me who hates the industry as a whole. I also know that I should not group all cab drivers in the same category. I know I should not be aggressive only towards cab drivers. But, often in life, knowing and doing are 2 utterly different things. Sigh...
Another weird thing. What all of you hope never to enocunter. Yes, an encounter with the "supernatural" kind. As most Singaporeans know, the 7th month was just over. The 7th month is the Ghost month where believers say that our "friends" from down below come up for some fun. Concerts are staged for them, feasts are prepared for them, entertainment is organized for them and worldly possessions are burned for them. Well, during the middle of the month, my mother in law would prepare a huge feast complete with prayers, food and all the works. That evening, our whole family went over for dinner. After dinner, the maid, my mil, me and I think my sister in law went out to burn joss papers. As it was a rather stiffling night, we were feeling the heat from all the burning. There wasn't a scrap of wind and the burnt papers were burning merrily in the huge bin. It was a rather sudden thing and I felt a chill around my legs. I looked around at the others to see if they could feel it. Nobody seemed to notice anything wrong. As a true blue Singaporean exposed to all the horror stories and the beliefs and superstitions, I sensed that something was nearby. (By something, I mean "those things") The burnt papers began to slowly twirl upwards whereas they were just lying quite still at the bottom of the bin a minute ago. Immediately my mil said, "Oh, got people come take the money liao!" in a matter of fact way. I felt the chill pass through my legs through the rest of my body! It wasn't my first time burning joss papers, nor was it my first encounter with the supernatural kind. Nevertheless, the sensation was chilling! I could sense things and I could see the papers twirling upwards in the absense of wind. Scientifically, it would have been explained as the rising of the hot air currents that carried the papers upwards. But unless one were there experiencing it first hand, it would have been difficult to convince a skeptic.

Phew, I finally got that scary episode out. I could feel the goosebumps rising again! But as a Buddhist and having a husband who's Taoist, I try not to let my imagination nor my fear get to me as I believe that if you do no evil and do not disturb the peace and make no fun, we will all leave each other alone and not cross each other's path.

Hi September mojo!

Frenz!

I made this for my neighbour cos her daughter is very fixated with my son and always comes over to play! Hee hee! She's 6yrs old and my son's 8 yrs old. But they seem to enjoy each other's company and my son doesn't mind playing with a younger girl. That's what so good about him. He plays with anyone and everyone and has no prejudice against anyone.

Water Play & Snow Fun

I got this hanging holder from Daiso (where else??!!) and was wondering what to do with it when I realized that the 8x8 papers I had fitted in nicely! So this was very quickly conceived and just as quickly churned out! All in one night!

Happiness Is: ...

I did quite a lot of sewing on this LO but because the colours I used were very pastel like the paper, it wasn't very outstanding. But I still had fun sewing it!

U're so TweetThis altered art was inspired by a visit to scrapping pal, Jaz's house. I saw the bird cage and how she used it and was totally hooked! I love the little cage and was thrilled to find it at the new Daiso at Rivervale Mall. This Daiso is sooooo near my place that I'm afraid that I'll go there and stock up every week!

Mommies day out!

THE MIGHTY MOMMIES!

This is the 1st time I'm meeting so many scrappers at J's place. Some of them are old time friends and some I'm meeting for the 1st time. But regardless of how long we knew each other, there was instant bonding. There's really something to be said for this scrapping hobby. It's an expensive hobby, but the rewards of having and meeting friends like these... Priceless! (Sorry for sounding like the advertisment!) We all had so so so so much fun!! Talking, gossiping, eating, laughing, sharing! I'm so gonna remember this day. It's really been such a long time since I enjoyed myself so much with so little restrain. Sometimes, with colleagues, it's quite a different type of feeling and depending on what type of colleague you go out with, there's always a level of guardedness and isolation. Today was really a hang loose and let your hair down kinda meeting. Ladies, I just wanna thank you all for such a GREAT GREAT time and your priceless company! May we be able to do this again! But must find another location or else J will collaspe and faint!!!! Wahahahaha!

I really love this candid shot of E taking a "lovey dovey" shot of herself and A! Hahahaha! It was just such a scrappy shot!

Sexy sexy sexy leggy! Hee hee! Don't kill me for posting this eh, Mee Kia Girl!
Trying for an "artistic" shot with mini digi cam. Not so successful eh! Looks more like a wrong shot that's back lighted.....

Don't we all look like we're having fun?!

Of course we had to have food right? What's a day out without loads of sinfully yummlicious snacks, drinks, cakes, salads... *Smack lips*!


And what's the use of 8 gorgeous scrappers coming together without at least a gorgeous scrapping bag??!! Thankx S for the lovely shot of your lovely bag! Ok, that's all for the pics! I'm off to buy that bag! Online of course, at this time of the night!

More layouts!

Did I mention.... I'm in a posting frenzy!! How can anyone understand the computer so well??!! I'm so very blessed that I have such a fantastic husband who is so good and so willing to help me resolve my computer problems! Lovely!
Here's one I did a couple days ago.

Gentle Giants

tkd

Roamy has gone back to Scotland. We'll miss him and his family. We've had so much fun together in the short time that we knew each other. But we made a promise to them that we'll go visit them when Bri is older. I so wish to go Scotland too! Read so much about Scotland and Ireland that going there will be a wish come true and a vision fullfilled!

Norwegian reindeer snow shoes

My wonderfully technically inclined husband has resolved the missing post pic buttons for me. It's just so great to be able to blog again that I'm gonna make this a picture filled post! Here's a very cute pic of my daughter wearing this Norwegian reindeer snow shoe. My husband bought this back 10 years ago on his trip with his band to Norway. Why he bought this is anyone's guess!!

Lost again!

What's the matter with Blogger??!! The buttons are gone again! Does anyone out there know how to restore those buttons?!

IT'S BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah! My "buttons" are back! I can finally post pics! Never knew these few small buttons could control my cyber life like this!

Life In Macro

Here's the LO that won me the wonderful goodies loaded prize from Japan! Here's where you can find her wonderful, lovely and inspirational blog! Tessah

TA DA!! The lovely package I received from Japan!

There's also a couple of LOs I did over the last 2 weeks. Been quite productive! Hee hee!

You & Me

H is for Home

Friends

Still missing.... Sigh!

My upload photo buttons are still MISSING!! I'm going bonkers soon! I really so wanna post my latest LOs, my gorgeous stash from Japan, my kids.... Arghhhhh!!!!

Sigh.....

I have no idea why.... But Blogger is not allowing me to post any pics. There isnt a post pic button on my Posting page anymore. Anyone out there can help? I just received a gorgeously scrap ladden package from Japan and so wanna "show off". Guess this is fate's way of telling me that I should not be such a fluff head show off! Hahahaha!

Chicken Soup for the Scrapbooker's Soul

I laughed when I received this as my birthday present. Chicken Soup is such a success that even scrapbooking is playing a part in one of it's titles! Hahahaha! I thought it would mostly be about what sb is, why others sb, the hoarding instinct, etc. What I didn't expect was the touching stories about how scrapbooking changed the lives of some and made it easier for others. Scrapbooking for these people was about leaving behind a story, yes, a story, not the bombastic word, legacy. Why use the word legacy at all? It's not like we're leaving behind millions of dollars for our next generation. But what these scrappers were leaving behind were worth more than the billions of dollars. They document their lives, the children's lives, the laughter, the tears, the breakups, the weddings, the funerals, the sickness. Everything. Nothing was mentioned about competitions, Design Team, pretty embellishments, admirers, being recognized.
After reading it, I realized that I had strayed from my original aim of scrapbooking. I was too caught up in the buying (who isn't) and the opinions of others. I let the trends take over. I slaved over ONE single LO for days just to make it look pretty and trendy and acceptable by others. I blogged hopped, magazine hopped, friend hopped.... just so I could create the loveliest LO that would be praised and admired by others!
Finally, I felt so tired by it all. I had no more mojo left in me. I needed to make another gorgeous LO to be admired and fawned over. I wanted everyone to drool over the wonderful creations I had come up with, I wanted the praise and the recognition. I had lost myself.
Chicken Soup had done its job again. Reading it brought me back to my senses and reality. It was nobody's fault that I became this way. It was too easy to lay blame. That was what I did initially. I blamed the manufacturers for always coming up with new stuff, the LSS for bringing in all that drool worthy goods, even my friends for their bad influences! I must have been mad!
When at last I ran out of excuses, I looked deep within myself and dug out that worm called "GREED" and squashed it flat. Greed for new things, greed for recognition, greed for money, greed for everything! I need to relearn to scrap for myself again. Not every LO needs to be beautiful, to be admired, to be nice. Each project that I undertake now must be for myself only. To please myself. To leave behind a story. To make me happy that I've done another LO...
I am happy now!

Happy enough that I cleared my cabinets of years of mess and dust. I carefully packed my coke collection and made space for my scrapbook collection. The display shows many of my years of work. Whether it is artistic, childish, out-dated, I dont really care. I just want to clean the dust off my work and give it a nice place to reside in. If it is admired, I'm happy. If not, I can live with it too!

Love the clean, clean display shelves. Weeks of hard work cleaning and throwing and packing resulted in this!

My Beloved Coke Collection

I finally made the decision to give away my coke collection. It was not as painful as I thought it would be. I had to make space for more of my scrap stuff to be displayed.
It wasn't too painful maybe coz I had a good friend who was willing to house my collection. I definately have more than the pics I showed here. I wanted to take pics as I packed them away, but I got so carried away that I completely forgot about taking some memories. I cleaned them, polished the bottles and scrubbed the years of dust away. As I cleaned them lovingly, I savoured the memories each bottle had for me and I almost put them back again. But I knew that if I did that, I would never be able to part with them again. So now, here they are, most of them in a box, ready for their new home.
I really have to thank Ed for so kindly taking them in. I'm really glad I don't have to throw them away. I was not even willing to sell them to Cash Converter, which was what one of my friend did.

All my coke collection are from around the world. Italy, Nepal, Japan, Cyprus, Dubai, England, Thailand, Hong Kong, Denmark, Alaska, Canada.... Can you imagine the effort it took me to carry them all back? Especially the glass bottles.
So my beloved collection is now going onto a more worthy home. One who will take care and display them for more people to enjoy. Thanks Ed! Will remember this favour!

Has it been almost one month??

When I saw the date on my last post, I thought, "Hey, Blogger ate some of my posts! Where did those posts go? I specifically remembered that I had posted some photos, some musings in between.... Or was that in my dreams? Hmmmmm..."
In reality, I must have forgotten to blog again! Why do I do this to myself? Why must keep up with this blogging thing? It's not as if I like such a popular personality and thousands read my blog everyday. Aside from my few really loyal friends, no one actually reads my blog. Hahahaha! I'm not belittling myself. I just wonder why I even blog really!
Recently I just got a new bag. It's a first for me. Not the buying of the bag. But the price tag that came with it. I have not bought such an expensive bag in my life. I enjoy the good things in life, just like anyone else. But to spend such an amount on a simple bag is just not my style. It's not like the bag costs a couple thousands, just a couple hundred. But still, it was a first for me and then I realized that it would not be the last. I finally understand why young girls are willing to blow their 1st paycheck on a thousand dollar bag. It's the thrill of buying and carrying it around for others to admire. And after buying my first couple hundred dollars bag, I'm now more willing to blow a few more couple hundred dollars on another branded bag. Would I carry on this way? Would I now think that a couple hundred dollars for a handbag is nothing? Would I start to lose my sense of perspective? Should I even allow myself a second expensive handbag?
In this current economic downturn, to even spend on this sort of frivolous thing seems very sinful to me. Especially when there are others out there who are living from hand to mouth. Not so much the adults. It's the kids. Are there kids out there who do not have enough to eat coz their parents had lost their jobs?
I think the next time I give in to my impulse to get another couple hundred dollars handbag, I should think of those kids out there who are eating only biscuits drinking water to assauge their hunger. Really. There are such kids out there. I have met them.....

Busy...

Who isn't? You ask. I am an almost full time mother and almost part time worker. Hmmmm.... nice life, I'm thinking...
But I'm a fairly lazy person especially when it comes to work. I'd prefer to spend my time lazing around and meeting up with friends, sipping a latte on a breezy Wednesday afternoon.... Alas, on a breezy Wednesday afternoon, I'm rushing through work, kids, laundry, cooking, ferrying kids here and there for holiday programmes (I must have been mad to sign Brandon up for so many holiday programmes!)
I often wish I were one of those ladies who are always so well turned out, with narry a hair out of place and lipstick bright and glossy. They will always have 2 or 3 kids in tow who are just as well turned out as the mother. And if you look carefully, there'll usually be a maid trailing behind looking harassed and wild haired! How nice to have a maid taking care of your kids, housework, cooking. And all I'd have to do is to take care of my hair and nails and clothes before I come out looking like a million bucks!!
POP!! There goes my dream bubble. I am the perfect example of someone who is not contented with her lot. Sigh.... I've read all the requisite books on how one must be contented with life and that money is not everything and cannot solve everything... Blah blah blah....
Jeez.... I can always dream can't I? Hee hee! Maybe tomorrow I'd strike lottery and then I'd have that breezy Wednesday afternoon in the Bahamas! Hahahaha!
Have a wonderful breezy week everyone!

Our Local Variety Show

Watched a very interesting variety show on Channel 8 this evening. I don't usually like variety shows and most especially chinese ones produced locally. I don't think they do a very good job on the originality front. Most of the shows copy the more creative Taiwanese or Japanese ones.
However, the one this evening was hosted by Mark Lee and was all about foreigners speaking our Mother Tongue, Mandarin. It was jaw cracking hilarious! I was amazed by the talents of the foreigners. They could speak Mandarin so well and most of them could even "get" our colloquail words and phrases. Phrases like "gila"(crazy), "salah"(wrong), "ponteng"(skip school/work) were used to test the foreigners knowledge of our local words. It was so funny watching them guess the words and form sentences based on what they had guessed.
I was impressed by the fact that these were people from Isreal, America, Germany, Korea, Japan etc and they made the effort to learn Chinese even though many of our locals are fluent in English and some can even speak 2 or more foreign languages.
Our local children have much to learn from them. I told Brandon that the American guy on the show speaks better Chinese even though it wasn't his 1st language and Mandarin is really not an easy language to learn. They could even read the Chinese characters!! That really impressed me.
Finally, towards the end of the show, the Isreali guy took out his local drum and started beating out a beautiful rythmn and our local Indian dance instructress danced a perfectly matched Indian dance to his Isreali drum beats! This is beyond language and shows how music transends all barriers.
I am now going to make time to watch this variety show every Tuesday at 8pm. And I should also revise my biased opinion of local variety shows. Maybe if Brandon watched more of it, his spoken Chinese may then improve..... I can only hope..... and watch more Mandarin variety shows!

A photo laden post

I started making this mini album at G's hse 2 weeks ago. Together with Ed, G and myself, I managed to complete 3 pages! When I got back, I was so enthusiastic about this project that I actually completed it in one week! That must have been something like a speed miracle for me! Heh heh heh!
Anyways, I seem to have inspiration at other people's house! G's place, Jaz's place.... Everywhere except my own place!! Hahaha! What a laugh!
Every scrapping session at G's house is always food, laughter, drinks, more food, louder laughs, bigger cups of drinks! And of cos the scrapping too! G's so happy to share that sometimes I'm afraid that I'll take advantage of her generosity.
It's often easier to scrap with friends and make merry with gossips, idle chats and makan. I love to pop by Jaz's place with a bagful of scrap stuff. And very often, my very generous friend would slip papers, bellies, flowers into my scrap bag. Where to find a friend like that?
Thank you all, dear friends! I'm glad that scrapbooking has let me find my passion and my passionate friends!

The Many Faces of You

I thought that putting this pensive look at the last page ended the whole album quite neatly!

Memories of Home

This box was done up quite some time back but I never had time to take pics and upload. Since today appears to be a free day for me (kids taken care of by mummy. Thankx Mum!) I thought I'd take some time to look through what stuff I can upload into my very pathetic blog! Hee hee hee!

I'm not missing in action, yet......

Is That All?

Hee hee! Here's a long overdue LO that was inspired when I visited Jaz 2 weeks ago. I completed it 2 days after I came back from her place ( a very inspiring place, to be sure!) but was lazy to take photos and upload!

So, here's Brianna with her very first stash of birthday pressies!

Our little baby girl is ONE!

One year ago, this little miracle was born and we were just embarking on our new journey as a unit of 4 instead of 3. Brandon was a real trooper. He took it in his stride that he would no longer be the center of his parents doting attention. Instead, he'd have to share it with his little sister. He helped to look after her, watch her and even carried her at times. Now that the little sister is older, he is even playing with her and carrying her around! I think I must be the luckiest mom around. Most kids would likely rebel and demand more attention. Brandon just goes with the flow and bumbles around happily like before. Maybe he's a little sad that he no longer gets all our attention and love, but he seems alright with it. I must also remember occasionally that he is just an 8 year old boy and still needs my love, care and concern.

Even though this post is all about Brianna, I must salute the little trooper, Brandon!

Our Girl (Ikea Photo Frame)

Brianna (Happy Birthday)

This lovely LO was done by good friend and scrapping pal, Jaz. As usual, her brilliant style shines through even in this simple LO. I love the cutout flowers and the simple and effective layering.

Brianna's First birthday celebration (meaning that there'll be a 2nd one!!)

Check out the fantastic spread of food that my mother in law prepared with her helper, Ling.

Chinese believe that we should have an egg that is dyed red for good luck. And Bri was busily and happily cracking hers against the container! Then when she discovered that the shells could be removed, she slammed it even harder against the container and then tried to dig out the egg that was inside! We all watched her and let her put the eggs and the shell into her mouth! It was amusing to see her spit out the shells!

Finally, the cake cutting! Even though the cake was rather small, we all enjoyed it throughly!

And that is the end of the wonderful and warm birthday celebration at my in-laws place!

Next up will be her birthday celebration at my house! And that will be even more of a blast cos so many more people will be turning up on that day! Yipee! (Why am I so happy anyway? It's not my BD celeb what.....)

Almost one...

Today, we're celebrating Brianna's chinese birthday. On the lunar calendar, she's already 2 years old as the Chinese take it as the child is already one from the day that they are born as they were in the mother's womb for 10months. That already counts as a year.
We'll be popping over to paternal grandparents place for a quiet celebration with family only. It should be fun cos they really love her little antics and as the only bb in the family currently, she's the most pampered one. I have picked out a really lovely dress for her. Initially, I didnt even think of buying a new dress as she already has so many clothes lovingly passed down from friends and relatives. Many of them were so new, I thought that I'd just let her wear anyone of those. A friend reminded me that even though she has so many clothes, most of them were hand me downs and no matter how new, I should at least get her a new set for her birthday. A girl only celebrates her one year old only once and when she grows up, at least there are photos of her in a lovely dress that was not a hand me down! I caved in and got her a gorgeous Korean mini dress. It has lovely hand stitched flowers and a pretty little bow on the front. The soft chiffon material had me caressing it for a long time! (I dont even dare think of how much I paid for it, safe to say that I myself had never even paid so much for a dress of my own!!)
So, tonight is the night for the little princess and even though I know she'll never remember this day, I will take photos, videos and make little notes to remind myself and her of this milestone!
Till next Sunday then! When the little princess celebrates her "English" birthday with the rest of family and friends at our home!

Funny photos!

First, she enjoyed herself clinging onto the railings. She smiled and squealed, laughed and chuckled.

Then, she got a little bored. She wasn't smiling so much, but she wasn't crying either. She was beginning to wilt a bit. Tired from all the laughing and chuckling I guess......

But what I didn't expect was THIS!! Hahahahaha! I was so amused by her! She was really tired and could not cling on any longer. Yet, her parents still put her "behind bars" and tried to make her look cute! This was the result of "force" photo taking!
Hope you enjoyed this series of amusing photos! Have a great weekend and a fantastic week!

Made it back in one piece

We planned and planned for this one week hol. Should we go Bintan? Hong Kong? Malaysia?
In the end, decided that we should self drive to KL. Coz of bb, we had so much more luggage to lug. So, borrowed an MPV (can put more stuff and still be comfortable) packed in our stuff and family and set off rather excitedly on Tuesday morning, 6.30am. Drive was smooth and comfortable. Some rain and fog along the NS highway but it wasn't anything hubby couldn't handle.
The real trouble started when we reached KL and checked into the hotel. We arrived slightly earlier than expected and the room wasn't ready. No prob, we thought. Just leave the luggage in car and take only what we need. So, unfolded pram and off we trooped. Went around the back to Sungei Wang and BB Plaza. Traffic was rather horrid and weather sticky. After lunch, Brandon started drooping and whining. He was getting sicker. Coughed almost non-stop and sneezed his nostrils off. Poor guy, we said. No choice, hubby said. Let's get back to hotel. From there, everything started going downhill. BB didn't want her food, big brother just lay on the bed like a sick droopy flower, daddy tried giving meds, mummy tried coaxing food into BB. 2 hours later, we all collasped with exhaustion. BB from screaming, Brandon from illness, daddy from driving and mummy from eveything!
I nearly wanted to drive back the next day. Things didnt get better. Only worse. Brandon was getting sicker and BB kept spitting out her food. Mummy could not get any shopping done and Daddy was the only sane one. Thank god for Daddy's calming influence or else I would have left the BB by the roadside and chucked Brandon into the dustbin!! I was that frustrated!! She kept refusing to sleep, eat or poop! Brandon kept wanting to sleep! All I wanted was to do some shopping but I could not! Could not even eat a proper meal or have a decent rest at night!
Sigh..... I learnt a lesson.... BB was simply too young to bring anywhere simply coz she could not eat our adult food. And as she was still BF, I became her only source of nutrition and that really frustrated me coz she wanted to suck every 2 to 3 hours.
Never mind..... It was only 3d2n..... and what a frustrating 3d2n it was.....

Bri's 10 months already!

How time flies! This must be the most oft sprouted phrase when it comes to little ones. They really seem to make time fly. Even though I have been the one looking after her, I still feel that the time has really sped by. I often think back to the time when she had just appeared to say hi to the world. The joy, the pain, the miracle..... Now, at 10 months plus, she is still my bundle of joy, just not so little already!
She can do so many things now. I have this tendency to keep comparing her to Brandon. He was such a sweet natured baby whereas she's a little spitfire. Brandon was relaxed and sedate; she is easily bored. Bran could sit and play by himself for a long time while Bri needs constant attention. Bran always sat quietly in the car seat and pram; Bri puts up a fight almost every time. Bran's motor skills developed quite late; Bri could switch toys from hand to hand at 5months! Bran didn't really speak clearly till almost 16months; Bri can already call Mama, Papa, "mum mum" (eat) Ah Ma. Bran didn't really understand commands till about 13 months; Bri can already point, ask for things, shake head for no and nod for yes, babble and reply when you talk to her, move her hands away, and a whole lot more.
I'm constantly surprised at the progress she has made. Her level of understanding is just simply beyond that of a 10 month old baby. Most of my commands, even the more complicated ones, she can comprehend and follow. Actually, at about 7months, she could already understand simple commands like nod and shake head. Bump heads. Dance dance. Move move. No no. Yes yes. Does she really understand? I ask myself. So test after test is done on her. Get her to do this, get her to move that.... And again, she surprises the hair off my head!
I have learnt not to underestimate the innate intelligences of very young children. She is a very special child, just like every child out there, and as her mother, I have to make sure that this innate intelligence is carefully and lovingly nurtured.
Have a great week ahead one and all and remember to have a smile for the young baby, child that you meet! Dont forget the mother too!!

Love is.... Always True

A challenge LO for Webster's Pages, InspireMe. It's Jaz's challenge and I thought it would be fun to take part in it cos the rules were fun and simple to do. So here's my take!

Love is ... Always True

The flower hides the journalling that's underneath!

Remove the pin and the flower and the journalling opens up! TFL!!

Brushes of Love

I bought this wooden palatte a really loooong time ago and never got round to scrapping it. I've always liked the altered art side of scrapbooking. I enjoy making albums from scratch and altering almost anything that's available. So here's my Brushes of Love! TFL!!

Brushes of Love