Born Free, Now I'm Expensive

We are moving!!

2009-05-25T23:08:00.005+10:00

A quick post.

Since I came back from my weekend away at Cairns, I have been so caught up with lots of nitty gritty stuff, I have not got time to take pics of the layouts I did at the retreat! I did an album on Saturday, and managed to churn out 8 layouts on Sunday. Very pleased....

So what are the nitty gritty stuff? Selling furniture, eBaying, organising the move, etc etc. Yes, the move. We are finally moving into our house. We sold most of the furniture we wanted to sell at very good prices (better than expected), so we are pretty happy. Boxes are lying around everywhere in the house in every shape and form - flattened, folded, filled, half-filled ...... My head feels like it is overflowing, I can't process a lot these days. To make matters worse, our washing machine broke down. Of all times. This machine is 12 years old. Never once did it give us any problems. Its sudden death is quite untimely to say the least. We are financially tight at the moment with moving and getting things ready for the new house. Needless to say, we have no time to shop around for a new one. And the demise of a washing machine, a modern day necessity, is just ... plain WRONG!!! We thought of getting one on rental for the time being to tie us over. Then a saviour came to our rescue. My FIL - quite the UNusual suspect - told us he has one sitting in his shed. Why would an old man living on his own buy a spare washing machine, I have no idea, but hey, it worked out for us. So Peter went to his house to pick it up and now we have a borrowed, albeit crappy, but working washing machine. I can't complain.

Anyways.... packing is full steam ahead from now on. So pardon me if I don't blog .... (what's changed?? LOL) but I'll be back online as soon as I can.

Good luck with my move!

Cairns retreat & girly chimp

2009-04-30T13:47:00.002+10:00

Just a very quick post. I'm in a mad hurry to pack for a retreat I'm going to.... in Cairns! Yes!! My first interstate retreat. I'm going to have a weekend of fun with the girls from Scrap Therapy. I'm stressing out on what to pack. If you think packing to go for a local retreat is tough, try packing for a retreat where you have to fly to get there.

Anyways, a minor zoological technical error I made in my last post - Magoo is not a monkey. It is a chimpanzee. I kind of just noticed... that he doesn't have a tail. :D So there we go.... Magoo the chimpanzee. On that note, we were invited to a Christening last Sunday. And I made a girl version of Magoo, for the baby girl who was christened. I don't have a name for her. I gathered, the baby girl will name her when she's ready. :)

This time round, I did a few things differently. But boy did I struggle with the skirt. As there was no pattern, and I'm not exactly Paton or Burda material, so I had to do it by trial and error. You wouldn't believe how many times this skirt has gone through facelifts in its shortest lifetime. I would have stitched, unstitched, cut, stitched, unstiched again, cut some more, stitched again,.... you get the drift. I spent more time on the skirt than sewing the whole chimp. Anyways... it turned out really gorgeous and I love her. I wanted to add more feminine touches, so I added a Prima flower on her head, and gave her some "mascara lashes" too.

OK... time to go back to packing. I'm still stressed. But I'll have a great weekend. Looking forward to some sunshine and tropical rain. :) :) See you when I'm back!

mich

Moving. Monkey. More fabrics.

2009-04-18T11:08:00.007+10:00

We have a date! When we are getting our keys that is. 29th May 2009. So we are moving in 30th May 2009.

Yippee!!!

I think I have to start organising things into Garage Sale pile and Moving pile. Believe it or not, I've never moved a family before. I've moved from place to place before, but it's all just me - moved out of house, moved into my first marital home, split and moved out, moved from one flat to another, and another, moved my whole life to Australia .... but I've never MOVED with an entire family. This is like ... massive! I don't even know where to begin to pack?! Apparently there is a kind of service - The White Glove Mover, where you most likely pay through your nose for, and a team of professional removalists will come and pack everything for you, move them to your new place, AND UNPACK everything and put everything where they belong. You literally just walk out of your old house, have a day out, and walk straight into your new house and enjoy. I don't think I have enough arms and legs in my next 10 life times to pay for that!

I have recently got into sewing. I've owned a sewing machine since 6 Mother's Days ago. I've only used it for scrapbooking stitching and hemming. For a few months now, Ruey has been doing lots of 'research' on sewing projects. She decided she wants to get a sewing machine and sew her own cushions and a long list of other projects. I caught on to that fever pretty quickly too. We decided to do this little project together, to build our confidence... actually more like my confidence really. So we bought this Melly & Me's Magoo pattern. Magoo is a soft stuffed monkey. We bought our fabrics during the recent Stitches and Craft show, and a whole lot of other tools of the trade. A month later, and after spending 2 bombs, we finally got together the other day and did our Magoos. We didn't quite finish the project on the day cos as newbies, we spent a bit of time deciphering instructions. I finished up the project late that night... and here he is... in his spotty glory and drawstring shorts.

So there you go, my first big sewing project. hehehe.... We've been invited to a christening this weekend... I think I might make another one for the little baby girl. :)

I did some fabric shopping .... this is Spotlight stash...

... this is Kelani stash....

I have plans for more monkeys and a skirt for DD.

Kids are back to school today. Phew... I'm back to normal. I could go to the gym and do grocery shopping by myself. But I think I'll start organising our garage sale like I said I would. hehehe...

That's all for now. Have a good week! Ciao!

Bad Blogger. Redeem with pics.

2009-03-25T22:37:00.008+11:00

I've been "reminded" by a few people that I haven't updated my blog forever. Guilty as charged.

Let's see.... perhaps show you a few projects to redeem myself? :) :)

Scrapware has a brand new release in April 2009 at the SIA trade event. A whole lot of new products..... so cute, so fun to work with. I picked a few of them and made these....

A door hanger kit - includes STOP and KEEP OUT signs. Monster pack (CH122) is available separately in a pack of 3 . I absolutely love the KaPow journaling spot, it is a sure hit for those who wants to make something SEEN.

I was given a Goodie Holder Kit (KT31) again, but this time, a girly theme. I couldn't go pass those candy colours from Cosmo Cricket's Girl Friday papers. What's new from Scrapware? The Flourish Loni Large (CH167) on both sides of the handle and Funky Birds Small (CH136) on the side. I shall attempt to take a few more dimensions of this cute Goodie Holder when I get it back.
Then I also made a Greeting Card box to use some of the new embellishments. The greeting card box is an idea from Angie Kennedy Juda. Basically it is made by folding 1 sheet of 12x12 patterned paper / cardstock into a handbag-like box, and you can customise any kind of greeting cards to be placed inside. I think it is a brilliant gift idea for people who has no time to go shopping for greeting cards. That way, they can use the handmade greeting cards from the box, and the best part is, they are giving out greeting cards that are handmade! (by YOU!!) Seen on the box is Flourish Lisa Small (CH133).

If you want to get your hands on these products, get your LSS or favourite online shop to order from Scrapware.

OK, now that I'm done with show and tell, a little update on everything.

Kids have been doing very well at school. Phaedon has taken to prep year like water off a duck's back. Ellen is cruising through Grade 1 as well. I have no worries in that department at all.... so far (fingers crossed). Otherwise, they have been well. We are now having Term 1 school holidays. I'm sure many moms out there are with me on this -- why do we always struggle to get them out of bed during school days, yet they have no troubles waking up early during school holidays?!?!?!?!?! They give us more grief while staying at home, fighting, bickering and arguing over everything. I SINCERELY believe that absence makes the heart go fonder, really I do.

And some exciting news.... we are going to get our house back ... soon! Porter Davis has vacated the display home we bought. The furnishing company has offered all the display furniture to us at VERY, VERY attractive prices, so we bought quite a few pieces, and they removed the rest. We know that a builder/contractor will, in the next month, be converting the sales office to a garage for us, as well as fixing up bits and pieces inside the house. We should be able to move in early June! YAY!!!!! We have waited quite a while for this to happen. Since we bought the home, we regularly drive past to drool over it, and sometimes even walk in and visit just to touch and feel everything inside OUR house. It is finally OURS!!!! We've been to Ikea to shop and plan for more furniture to buy and we are mentally sorting out the things we want to sell at the garage sale. We also have big pieces of furniture to sell too - 9-piece Dining Table set (timber with upholstered chairs), a Red Gum / Jarrah entertainment unit, a Red Gum coffee table, 2 tallboys, an Ikea Aneboda chest of drawers, and probably more. If anyone in Melbourne is interested in furnishing their house... email me and I'll take pics to show.

We also manage to take a photo of this billboard at the intersection not far from our home ....

See... that's our home on the billboard!! I just had to take a photo of this.... how often do you get your home featured on a billboard?? hehehe.... I think there might just be a layout of this... LOL.

I have been working out at the gym quite a lot for the past month or so, at least 3-4 times a week. I haven't lost any weight as such cos I know I'm gaining them from muscles. I'm aiming for a gut-free body shape by the time I go to Singapore for my holidays in June. I have another 8 weeks to go!

Scrapping wise, I have been lazy with layouts. I've just been doing little projects to giveaway as gifts. I made another greeting cardbox for a wedding couple .... For the box, I used GCD Studios Canta patterned paper, Heidi Swapp glitter florals, a silver glitter wide ribbon with Creative Imaginations jewel brad and Nestabilities scalloped heart diecuts.

As for the 12 Thank You cards inside .... oh man! Do I LOVE the Fiskars Apron Lace border punch or what?? I have Tracey to thank for this.... Tracey is a really lovely lady and I was sitting next to her at the Scrapbook Scene Bushfire crop. Now Tracey has the latest and greatest scrapbooking stash, because she can't wait till the Aussie traders bring them in (cos we always miss out when the US manufacturers finish catering to US retailers... gee, when are they going to learn??), she bought this punch from the US. Not to mention her latest Stampin' Up In Colour Stash?!?!! I want to sit next to her everytime!! LOL..... I have embossed the front cover of the card with Swiss Dots, Apron-Lace-Border-punched the foldover flap, Round-scallop-punched the sugarcoated cardstock, and stamped a greeting from SU Riveting stamp set with the latest Baja Breeze ink on white cardstock. I almost didn't want to give this set away to the wedding couple!!

For the kids' teachers, I made these little easter egg baskets. Once again, they are projects from Angie Kennedy Juda. Notice the strips of 'straw'? Who would have thought paper crimpers would make their way back into scrapbooking!?! hee hee.... And I LOVE those eggs. Not the chocolate, but the beautiful colour wrappers. Look for them in your supermarket, they are the Cadbury Heritage Chocolate Easter Eggs. They just go so well with the .... you guessed right.... Cosmo Cricket Girl Friday papers! BTW.... can you tell I've used Cosmo Cricket Girl Friday papers to death?

OK.... enough for one big massive catch up post. I'm sorry again. Will really put this blogging business into routine. Until then.... have a great Easter weekend!

Scrapped. Stones. School.

2009-02-02T18:52:00.005+11:00

Aahh... it has been over 2 weeks. Where do I begin?

I have scrapped. Layouts. Yes. Quite unbelievable, I thought. I have not scrapped a layout in months. Then in the last 2 weeks, I did 5!!! I am very very happy I did. I felt that I am a-l-m-o-s-t back. hehehe..... I submitted them to the mags and 2 layouts got picked! Now, I am beside myself, thrilled and getting excited about being published all over again. LOL... I need some "KitchenAid money". :) :) :)

These are the other 3 layouts I did.

My Barista - a double-page layout about my hubby honing his coffee making skills after he attended a Barista course, and is now a TAFE certified Barista. Perhaps he should leave his job and become one! hehehe... I used Rose Moka papers, KI Memories Sheer Delight and lace cardstock, Luxe rubons, Prima barcode tape, Scenic Route chipboard letters, 7Gypsies metal embellishments, Scrapware chipboard circles and Elle's Studios XL journaling card.

{HUGS} - Hugs department, always open, always free. I like this layout because I challenged myself to use minimal patterned paper and make more white space. Products: Basic Grey papers and chipboard stickers, American Crafts chipboard letters and Carolees Creations letter stickers.

Castle Cake - I haven't used pink cardstock for layouts for as long as I can remember. But somehow, these patterned papers just called for it. It's my daughter's birthday cake when she turned 6 last year. Very amateur in cake-icing as you can tell, but hey, it saved me heaps of money and she liked it. That's all that matters. But you know what, I think with lots of lollies, most people will overlook the flaws of the icing. hahahaha.... Products: October Afternoon papers and diecuts, Bazzill cardstock, American Crafts puffy alphabet stickers, Rose Moka letter stickers, Heidi Swapp flower, Heidi Grace pin and brad and Elle's Studios journaling card. The 2 leaves are made with Making Memories Slice Machine which Felicity kindly let me use. Thanks, Flick!

Anyways, my husband has been suffering from kidney stones for 11 days. Everyone I told seem to give me the same reaction - Ouch... it's very painful. Yeah, don't I know that. Mum in Singapore said it's more painful than child birth, so did Peter's aunt, and many women. Mum kept asking me why it's taking us so long to have it removed. Well, the simple answer is our sickeningly screwed up health care system in Australia. Peter suffered his first kidney stones attack in Singapore while we were on holidays, Jan 2000, we weren't married back then. We first went to a 24-hour clinic because he was in a lot of pain in the middle of the night. The doctor injected him with morphine straight away. So he slept in the surgery for a short while. The next day, we went to a hospital when the pain came back and he was white as a sheet. They admitted him straight away, sent him for a CT scan and diagnosed the sizes of the stones straight away. Because they were tiny, he was advised to let them pass.

This time? We waited for an hour at the emergency to get triaged, another hour to get into an examination room, only to be given some panadeine forte, a blood test and a urine test, and an all-clear-good-to-go-home. For the next 2 days, he was just pumping panadeine forte like lollies but to no avail. I finally dragged him to go back to a doctor and get it checked. This time because it's a normal GP, he had to do blood test, urine test and an Xray - all Medicare SOP (standard operating procedure). Went back next day, to get results - inconclusive! THEN he ordered a CT scan (now compare the days it took for us to get a CT scan here as opposed to Singapore). Carrying on the brand of healthcare sucks, Melbourne was hit by a massive power outage which prevented the Imaging centre to send the results to the GP for a few days. Until today, the GP still hasn't received the scan results. I got fedup and asked Peter to go collect the results himself. That way, clinic and imaging centre can stop playing the blame game! So he brought his scan results into the clinic today to get the GP to explain what next. The biggest damn stone is 8mm big!!! Finally organised for him to go for surgery to have it removed. Mum cannot get her head around the length of time we had to wait to get treated, and all the different places we had to go to get things done (don't forget we had to pick up the scan results ourselves or else we could still be waiting), hence increasing the waiting time and finger-pointing games. Quite frankly, after living here for 10 years, I don't either. Doesn't our healthcare here suck big time?

Today, it's our first day back at school. After staying at home for 6 weeks, I think my kids have had enough, so has their mum. Not to mention, the last 2 weeks, I had one sick, grumpy old man under the roof 24/7 as well. Let's do a bit of math here...

Grumpy sick man + 2 feral kids x last 11 days of school holidays = a very very unhappy mum.

I was telling a friend, and probably using a bad analogy, that it feels like I had been constipated for 2 weeks and today was my first bathroom visit. Get it?

A BIG FAT RELIEF!!!

Anyways, Phaedon's first day at Prep was perfect. He bounced out of bed at 7am, dashed to the dining table and asked for cereal for brekky, scoffed it down in minutes, greeted me with a 'GOOD MORNING MUM!" and a big grin, rushed to get washed and cleaned and changed into his uniform, and was ready by 7.30am sitting on the couch. Good huh? Let's see how long this will last..... On the other hand, the big sister was the opposite but I won't delve on her too much cos she was just miserable and difficult.

We got to school and took Ellen to her classroom. All of a sudden she just became clingy and shy and didn't want to say hello to her teacher. I know why, it's because she knows that Phaedon has got the same Prep teacher she had -- Jealousy. She used to be the teacher's pet. Now she has a new teacher, and her favourite teacher has become her brother's. Phaedon on the other hand just cruised into his classroom and sat down playing.... no drama at all. See the difference between girls and boys?

Think this is a long enough post. I'll leave you with a few photos taken today.... pay close attention to the proportion of the size of school bag to the kid.

Good night from me, everyone.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

2009-01-16T22:27:00.004+11:00

It's my birthday today

I'm older than yesterday

All my friends are coming over to play

And they'll all sing happy birthday

Don't laugh. This is part of a kiddy song, It's My Birthday Today by Justine Clarke, an Australia singer who does a lot of children songs. This one has a very catchy tune, and I like it.

Yes I turned 39 today. Did I get spoilt? Hmmm.... let me see... I got MANY birthday wishes from friends on Facebook, a phone call from my sister in law, a phone call from my girlfriend in Hong Kong, SMSs from my brothers, and a visit from Ruey who came bearing McDonald's breakfast and ingredients for Laksa lunch. I am very blessed to be surrounded by friends and family who care. I don't expect people to remember birthdays in this day and age. People rely on technology too much. Their phones, PDAs, digital diaries, online birthday calendars... etc. So if they call / email / SMS me to wish me happy birthday, I'm grateful that at least I made it onto their birthday reminders! LOL...

But the most special of all gifts, is an email from my 15 yo, Vickie to wish me Happy Birthday. The email came with a couple of happy birthday JPG and GIF images that she made herself on Photoshop. It was so sweet and I'm very touched. It truly meant a lot to me that we have made this progress. By the way, she was the one who told me I have already failed my new year resolution of blogging at least once a week! Shame on me...

I got myself out of cooking tonight. Peter took us to our favourite local cafe, Ace's Place for dinner. Mind you, I was still full from my Laksa lunch with Ruey, but that didn't stop me from my usual order of garlic bread and seafood risotto. It was yummmm.... No plans for tomorrow yet. But I know what I'm doing on Sunday! A few scrapbooking girlfriends are gathering at Ruey's place for a day & night crop, with a dinner break at a Chinese restaurant close by. That's my kind of fun! Scrap, chat, eat, chat, scrap, chat.... can't wait!!!

Oh... to spoil myself, I put one of these on layby.

I've been wanting one of these KitchenAid mixers for a looooooooong while now. I'm not a fabulous baker nor a super chef but I aspire to be a domestic goddess and I think that little baby will help me. LOL... nah, I just have a very crappy mixer at the moment that I have to hold with my hands to beat/mix even though it has a rotating base and bowl and is supposed to do that all by itself. So I just wanted one that actually can beat/mix on its own without needing my help, so I can concentrate on talking to the camera like Nigella.

Anyways, it's almost bedtime for me.... almost. hehehe... Will update again after Sunday's rendezvous with the girls! Nitey Nite!

Week of Christmas and New Year's

2008-12-31T17:30:00.004+11:00

Christmas - A very quiet Christmas Day we had. We practically watched TV all day!!! LITERALLY!! We started the day with kids opening presents, then clearing up all the rubbish from opening presents, and then we started watching... Ellen's High School Musical DVD, Lifestyle Food Channel for a few hours and then, I embarked on my quest - catching up with Brothers & Sisters. I stopped watching the series from Season 2 Ep 5 ... I think being busy and all, so it was a massive catchup - 12 episodes of S2 and 10 episodes of S3! My eyes were popping out of the socket by 2am in the morning.

Oh.... what did I get for Christmas? I guess my Cuttlebug is my Christmas present! I gave Peter a voucher to go for a Barista class. He loves making coffee and takes great pride in it. I think the course which will certify him as a qualified barista will make him happy. Ellen got a VTech TV Learning game, Phaedon got a bike. There are lots of other little presents but I won't go into details. Overall, we are all very lucky.

Boxing Day - we went to Big W wanting to buy a BBQ that was on sale. Tried 5 different stores (by phone) before we found a unit available. It's not that we don't have a BBQ. In fact, we have 2 - a Weber Kettle as well as a Souvlaki grill type of BBQ. But those are charcoal BBQs and we wanted a gas one for 2 reasons. In summer, we often get fire ban days where we can't light a fire, BBQs included. Secondly, very often we just want to quickly grill some meats to get the chargrilled taste (and marks), instead of having to pan fry them inside the house, causing lots of smoke and smell, not to mention the 2 hours needed to set up the fire. Peter and I spent the evening setting up the BBQ while getting bitten alive by mosquitos.

27th - we went for a drive to Geelong with Peter's cousin, Ange and her hubby and kids. There was lots of traffic going up to Geelong, and the beach was actually quite filthy for some reason. But we certainly got a good tan that day, and some gas-baggin' amongst relatives!

28th - got invited to Cath and Jason's for lunch, and of course a swim in their pool. Kids had an absolute ball!

30th - invited Ruey, Joseph over for an impromptu BBQ to test our new toy. Ruey jumped on the opportunity so she didn't have to cook! (I would too, lol.) So we just quickly went out to buy some lamb chops and cutlets and some chicken, came home and marinated them. I made a mango salad and a kumato and bocconcini side dish. All the food got polished!!!! Gotta love people who love to eat. If you haven't seen a kumato, it is a tomato variety that has a purplish black skin and just INCREDIBLY sweet as a tomato. The actual variety is called Russian Black tomato, and Woolworths has patented the name Kumato. The only way to savour this variety, is to eat it raw in salads, and spare the dressing. Just lightly salt it, and drizzle some good quality olive oil. We served ours with a bocconcini and basil leaves, salt and olive oil. YUM-MO....

31st - went to Jenny and Lyndon's for a NYE party cum farewell dinner for Lyndon who is going to Singapore to work for 2 years. I am insanely jealous... wishing Peter had such an opportunity so we can go back to Singapore for a while. Sigh....

1st Jan 2009, 0149 hrs - HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!! I know, not everyone has celebrated New Year's yet due to time difference, but we have. It's 2009! I'm going to be 39 in about 2 weeks' time! What do I wish for? mmm.... good health to everyone, be thankful and be grateful for what (and whom) you have and happiness will follow you. I wish to speak to Vickie more often and hope to break the ice a little bit more. I also wish for Ellen and Phaedon to have a fantastic year at school, and Peter to have another great year with EMC (hopefully a promotion with a raise!!!). Hope everyone is coping with the economic downturn. And I can't wait for May/June when we move into our new house!

That's all for now. Good Cheers!!!!

Love... mich

Bug. Nice. Handbags.

2008-12-24T09:55:00.007+11:00

It has been a really busy week, making the last of Christmas cards, gifts, wrapping presents, catching up with people to drop off those presents ... etc etc etc, not to mention last week of school, kids haircuts, grocery shopping before people buy the last loaf of bread and the last bottle of milk like there's no tomorrow?

I was given the heads up by Ruey last Friday, that the Lincraft store at Epping has a very special on Cuttlebugs. They are (probably were, don't know if they are still) selling the Cuttlebug machines for $64.50. That is 50% off the RRP!! I couldn't believe my ears. I woke up on Saturday morning and told Peter that I 'need' to go to Lincraft at Epping, cos they are selling the diecut and embossing machine, the one I borrowed from Ruey (had to use laymen terms) at half price, so I want to get one. He just went.... "OK." I did a virtual "phew" in my head, and rang up the store to reserve one unit. So I'm now, albeit a bit behind everyone else, the proud owner of a new Cuttlebug machine!! :D :D :D I asked the store assistant why they were on sale and she told me that they had some flooding in the warehouse, and the instruction manuals were all soaked and impossible to open, so they had to throw them all out. But the machines and boxes were all intact! I figured, I know how to operate this little tool, especially after playing with it for more than a few times. There couldn't be a better deal!

Last night during dinner, Ellen spoke about writing another letter to Santa. It's like the "final one". In this letter, she said "but I can't write that I've been good, because I did a time-out today." I couldn't help but giggle inside. She was behaving badly at the supermarket during the day so she copped a time-out when we got home. If only she had considered the consequences like she did when she wrote the letter, it would have saved all the misery and frustration. I am a relatively strict mother, I like my children to be raised with awareness and consideration. I don't like to excuse them for any misbehaviour just because other people say "they are just kids". They should start learning from young to be considerate to other people, and to be aware of their surroundings. It's called R-E-S-P-E-C-T. I am a strong believer in what you do affect how other people react. It's no use being oblivious to your surroundings or people's feelings, do something stupid and then apologise. Apologies don't and never change the fact that something has been done, and it's out there and you can never take it back. I like them to take pride in being "nice first", and being "nice back" will come naturally. Even if whom you were being nice to did not reciprocate, you come out the better person out of the situation.

On a lighter note, Ruey came around yesterday, so we could swap pressies for the kids and have lunch. While she was here, I had to ask this guru how she would gift wrap these babies...

I bought these Fluff purses when I was in Singapore back in May. They are the cutest brand of girls' accessories, I promise you. From small to big coin purses, wallets, handbags, totes, laptop bags, key chains, luggage tags... the range is enough to let you hangout in the shop and imagine yourself turning into a diva. I don't know if they are available in Australia, but if you ever see them, you'll drool over them too. And these in particular, are relatively big purses (the size of CDs) and odd-shaped. So we started getting paper and tools out, (when I was supposed to be packing things away) and began making something. We had quite a bit of fun figuring out how to make them, experimenting a score line here, testing with a fold there... and Ruey ended up with this cutesy ...

and me with this....

.... HANDBAGS TO FIT THE PURSES!!! LOL .... it was the most impromptu and fun scrapping session we have ever had! And look, we used up some old stash again!! BG Blush, and remember those Queen & Co felt lacy thingies???? YES, I still have lots of them!!! hahaha... These handbags with the real purses are gifts for 2 teenage girls. I usually put in more effort when gift-wrapping their pressies because I'm known to them for doing fancy gift wrapping. And they will usually keep the gift wrap or packaging too! On top of those purses, I also got them a top each, which I put into one of these box-in-a-bag things I made.

I didn't get a chance to take any photos of the christmas cards I made this year cos they were like fresh bread in a bakery - out of the oven and out the door! Mind you, it's not because they were in hot demand, but I was running really late. I just like that analogy, makes me feel a bit better.... bwahahaha.....

To those who wrote a letter to Santa, thank you for joining in my fun, I will be sending you something in the mail. hehehe... there were only 4 people who emailed me their letters, so I guess all of them deserve some kindness from me just for humouring me. LOL...

And I would like to say a big thank you to anyone who is still reading my blog, and a bigger thank you to those who left comments. I haven't been very good this year in keeping my blog updated regularly, but that will be one of my 2009 New Year's resolution - to blog at least once a week.

Until next week, I wish everyone and their families a Wonderful and Merry Christmas. Eat, drink, laugh and be merry!

xxxooo .... mich

Sunny Boys. Wedding. Goodie Boxes.

2008-12-18T12:31:00.006+11:00

It has been crazy. I don't know where my time has gone since my last blog post. We are 1 week to Christmas!!!!!!!

I promised to show pics of the gifts we gave to the teachers at school and kinder. They each received a post-it note pad and a sunny boy filled with Maltesers.

The sunny boy idea came from Ruey. She made some for Creative Cardmaking magazine in Issue 14 or 15, using lovely patterned papers. I just tweaked it and made them using the KI Memories Sheers. Because they are plastic, the stickiest DST still didn't hold them down, hence the blanket stitching. You like? :)

We attended a civil wedding, between Peter's cousin, Theo and his lovely new wife, Marina. It was held at the wedding registry at the Old Treasury Building. The ceremony is simple and to the point, the way I think all weddings should be. The bottom line, you love each other and want to be with each other. The ceremony is to formalise this union, and you have your loved ones there to witness it. It is so black and white. Don't people realise that when big weddings come into play, people turn ugly, relationships are strained, there's always someone else who wants to boss you around even though it is YOUR wedding. People lose sight of the meaning of a wedding. You try to make "things" perfect when you really should be perfecting your union. So what if you had a beautiful wedding (or a circus) .... if you are stressed, and you hate your family and relatives afterwards, and you made your bridal party miserable wearing dresses they don't like? And worse.... spend whopping tens of thousands of dollars where it could take a huge chunk off your mortgage! Peter and I promised each other, that we will not bother our kids with a wedding if they didn't want one (in fact, Peter will try to dissuade them, lol).

Anyways, I sidetracked. I brought my camera along to play, to experiment, and hopefully take some nice shots. Turns out, they didn't have a photographer on the day. Just everyone with their point and shoots. Peter's Auntie Julie, the nicest woman on earth, came to me and asked me to take a photograph of the couple together and Theo is her youngest son. I could never say no to this lovely woman. So to not disappoint, I started shooting, and shooting, and shooting, and became the inaugural photographer. Peter even said I became a Nazi photographer cos I was telling people where to stand, whose turn it was to take photos with the couple. LOL... I wasn't all that fantastic, to tell you the truth. No where near photographer standards (perhaps not even amateur), but I did manage a few nice shots, so I was very happy.

Last week, I picked up some Scrapware Goodie Boxes from Ange (Scrapware). These are a new release and will be available to order from the website soon. I wanted to make these goodie boxes for the mums at school. The five of us have bonded very well and have become really good friends. It's a shame our kids will all split and go to different classes, and one of them changing school cos they have moved. But I sincerely hope we will all stay in touch and still be good friends.

All that is required are paint, 2 sheets of patterned paper and embellish to your liking. I bought those hinged jars from The Reject Shop at $1.50 each. You can fill them up with whatever you like! I bought chocolate coffee beans, raspberry bullets, strawberries and cream and mint M&Ms. The girls loved it.... I even managed to get one of them to shed a tear. hehehe... was supposed to be a happy moment, but she got really emotional. :) :)

We are done with our Christmas shopping a while ago.... very organised huh? Now I just have to wrap them up. I also have to finish the last 30 cards for Peter to give out. Sigh... crazy times ahead! I hope to come back soon to blog again... before Christmas.

Cheers!

RAK ANYONE?. Zuttered. Layout.

2008-12-06T17:21:00.007+11:00

OK... this is a bit sad. To date, I only have 1 person who has written a letter to Santa. Come on, ladies... I know I'm not the most popular person in the world, but SURELY my blog has a few readers and/or lurkers out there! Show me some support, we can write to Santa, we are worth it! There is a RAK! Most importantly, get out of your comfort zone!

OK... grovelling over.

I went to Ruey's place last night to do some Zuttering. Yes, after much ado, I FINALLY pulled out my Zutter!! We wanted to make some post-it note holders for teachers as Christmas gifts. Here are the results. The post-it Notes are adhered to the insides of these holders which I didn't photograph but I thought was pretty straight forward. There is more to add to these gifts which I will complete and photograph again. I did make a few more but they are not finished so give me a few days. But I tell you what, THAT Zutter is a mighty cool tool!! Ruey did use and abused my machine.... like there was no tomorrow. hehehe... I'm sure she'll share some of her creations on her blog.

Today, my kids had 3 different parties to go to. They have a more established social life than I did when I was their age. Ellen had 2 birthday parties by her classmates, whereas Peter took Phaedon to his work's Christmas Party at a park. Tomorrow, we have Tae Kwon Do grading and I really hope to get some more Christmas cards done.

I have also completed a few DT projects for Scrapware this week. Using KDD Spring Flowers and Tulip Pots... I made a card, a bookmark and get this.... A LAYOUT!! I haven't done a layout in a month! How shameful! I'm a bit smitten by the Stampin' Up Dazzling Diamonds. They look especially gorgeous on a painted light background as shown on this KDD Spring Flower 3. BTW... can't say I regret getting the Fiskars Threading Water punch!

Another design from the KDD Spring Flower range (KDD Spring Flower 2). To take advantage of the height of the stem, I added it onto a long background, making it a simple bookmark.

Yet another Tulip layout :).... These few shots at the Teselaar Tulip Festival are my favourites. Just love the bright colours! I decided to tone down everything else and made it as simple as possible in order to bring out these cheery flowers. Tulip Pots and Steelfish lowercase letters are used.

That's all for today. Should seriously start sending out Christmas cards right about now! Have a great weekend!

mich

Cards. Blog Party. RAK!

2008-11-29T23:59:00.007+11:00

Just very quick post today ...

Phaedon attended his final Prep Transition on Friday and we received his class allocation. We are very happy that he got the same Prep teacher that is teaching Ellen now, and in the same classroom that Ellen has been in all year, so he'll be very familiar and comfortable. Furthermore, he is also in the same class as our friend's son, so that is even better! However, he is in the same class as the Principal's daughter.... hmmm.... I wonder if that is good or bad....

I made 2 Christmas cards using the Limited Edition Karen Day Designs Christmas Tree set.

Christmas Tree Shaker Card - trim out the centre of the tree, using a small plastic bag filled with some glass dew drops (you can use beads, sequins, glitter, etc.), attach to the inside cover.

Christmas Tree Sequin Card - fill dimensional magic in the centre of the tree, pour in sequins and spread out. Let dry.

Remember you can purchase these Christmas Trees directly from Scrapware, while helping St. Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal. Please read here for more info on how to order....

Don't forget SCRAPWARE'S BLOG LAUNCH PARTY!!!! SUNDAY 30 NOVEMBER 2008, 7-9PM AEDST! The program as follows:-

7:00 Welcome to the new blog
What we have in store for you & chat
First giveaway - Ask a question/leave a comment
New Product

7:30 Winner of first giveaway
(3 minutes to collect the prize, or it’s redrawn!!!)

7:35 Competition Announcement
Questions/comments/Chat
(ask a question on the competition to go into another draw)

7:55 Winner of second giveaway
(3 minutes to collect the prize, or it’s redrawn!!!)

8:00 Scavenger Hunt
1st Prize to the first person to correctly answer 6 questions
New Product
Chat

8:20 winner of Scavenger Hunt
8:30 Design Team Questions/General Chit Chat/Suggestions
9:00 Final Giveaway

As you can see, there is plenty of fun, excitement, games and certainly LOTS OF GIVEAWAYS! You have to be there to win it!!!! So come join us!! Don't miss out!

Santa Letter CHALLENGE with RAK!!!

If you went to my previous post, I wrote my first half-assed letter to Santa. Looking back, I could do a bit better but I did it just so I can get it out of my system. Why are mothers always looking after our children's wishlist, our nephew's wishlist, our niece's wishlist, our sister's or brother's wishlist... and no one ever talks about what WE REALLY WANT!? Why are we so reserved when it comes to telling people what we want? It's not a bad thing... is it? I mean, a lot of us did a wedding registry, didn't we? Rather than getting another bottle of unwanted perfume, or (god forbid!) apron, or another pair of slippers or bathrobe, or a handbag you won't use.... I'm posting a challenge for mum-bloggers out there.... write your own letter to Santa! Tell "him" what you want! Leave a comment here with a link to your blog showing me the letter. I will leave this challenge open for a week. The best written letter will get a little pressie from me. You might be surprised.... if you asked nicely, you might just get what you want! :D So give up your inhibitions and start writing your letter! Pass this challenge around.. the more the merrier!

Have a great weekend!

p.s.... I'd like to get hold of a set of Stampin' Up Hostess Set called Riveting (which is retired). Used or new, doesn't matter. If anyone knows someone who has one set to get rid of, please let me know. Thanks!

GIVEAWAY. P!nk. Letter to Santa.

2008-11-25T08:41:00.012+11:00

Ashamedly, I still haven't pulled out my Bind It All. *ducks* I will certainly do it by this week. I actually have a few ideas on what to make, believe it or not... hehehee. Quietly telling myself.... "Yoo can dooo it!"

SCRAPWARE BLOG GIVEAWAY!!!!

The Melbourne-based chipboard manufacturer, Scrapware has launched a new blog. Angela is going to have an official launch party on Sunday, 30 November 2008. Oh come on.... Idol is over... come join us and get some freebies!! There will be giveaways galore, a fantastic competition announcement, a scavenger hunt, new product sneak peeks and the Design Team will be online to answer any questions you want to fire at them!

Date: Sunday, 30 November 2008

Time: 7-9pm AEDST (Melbourne time)

Details .... check out here

Limited Edition Purchases!!!

Scrapware is also releasing Limited Edition of Karen Day Designs Christmas Trees.... DIRECT TO YOU!!!

Starry Trees Set:
Birdy Trees Set:

Chrissy Tree Set:

These limited edition KDD sets are 11-12cm tall and are priced at $4 per set, or $10 for all three sets (inclusive of postage). SCRAPWARE is donating 50c per pack to the St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal...as we all know that at this time of year, every little bit can make a big difference.

To order your sets of KDD Chrissy Trees, send an email to scrapware@iinet.net.au and we will send you instructions...

OK... back to me. :D

I got hold of P!NK's concert tickets in Melbourne! Soooooooooo happy! I totally missed her concert last year and was really disappointed. I knew she was going to have a concert in Australia some time next year for the album Funhouse but I wasn't sure when. By the time I found out, once again I missed everything. Fortunately, she announced extra concerts and this time I wasn't going to miss out! I hung onto Ticketek for dear life waiting for the tickets to come on sale, and grabbed them as soon as they were available. So ... there you go.... I'm going to Pink's concert. Am I thrilled or what??

Actually.... I am going to write a letter to my Santa with my wish list. I'm not going to be politically right and say 'Anything would be good' or 'I love surprises" cos I'd be lying. Because I'd like to get something I really want. ***HINT HINT HUBBY!!!!*** :D Here goes...

*******************

Dear Santa

I know I haven't known you for a long time but that's because my parents never told me about you. I have only heard about you in songs but I never realised that you are real and people actually can write to you and ask for things!! So I hope I'm not pushing it when I'm putting in this wish list. I also hope you have been watching me, making your list and checking it twice, and find out whether I'm naughty or nice. If I've passed your tests, these are what I would like for Christmas...

1. KitchenAid Mixer - (Yes... WOW ... if this is not possible now, I'll leave it for next time.)

2. Pink - Live from Wembley DVD

3. Stampin' Up Square Scallop punch (to be released on 1st Dec)

4. Stampin' Up Say It With Scallops stamps (to be released on 1st Dec)

5. Jamie At Home (Jamie Oliver's hardcover recipe book... 2nd hand would be good enough)

That's all for this year.

Thank you and Merry Christmas.

Michelle

********************

OK... that's all for now. Don't forget, Scrapware's blog launch party on Sunday!!! Cya!

Rhys. Machines. eBay Nuts.

2008-11-21T00:45:00.004+11:00

Ooops... last post 21 Oct.... obviously I haven't kept that up very well, have I? But I truly have been busy. Ridiculously. Maybe I'm just not coping with all these year-end activities from school and ECAs and birthdays.... I never used to have them until Ellen started school this year, and we started enrolling them into ECAs. Sigh... guess we asked for it.

Let's see what has happened so far .... not chronologically.....

My brother and SIL had their baby boy on November 8 2008, they named him Rhys. Loooove that name. But till now I still haven't seen his photo... SLACK!! (pot calling a kettle black... hehehe) So that is once again, another boy in the family, and Ellen still doesn't have a girl cousin, but all the males around her have very cool names - Athan, Zack, Danzel, Rhys... not to mention her very own brother, Phaedon. Cool huh? LOL...

I've made quite a few Christmas cards. I know hubby will need at least 2-3 dozens to give to people he works with, and we need around 2-3 dozens to send to friends and family. So I got desperate and started borrowing the Cuttlebug from friends. I didn't buy one cos I could not justify the cost against how often I use it. Besides, almost all my friends who scrap has one... I figured I can always borrow one when I need one. So I borrowed Ruey's and embossed and diecut to my heart's content. :) I tried hunting on eBay to see if I can find a 2nd hand machine but guess what? No one is parting with this tool!!! It must be a treasure!

My Zutter Bind It All arrived. It is still sitting in its box ... for 4 days now. WHY? You ask. This is exactly why I didn't get a Cuttlebug. I'm so not a machine person. I'm eager to buy papers, embellishments, alphas..... cos I instantly know what to do with them. Well, most of the time I do. I cut, I stick. But machines? I seem to have this phobia. What do I do with it? I mean I know it is a binder... I know what it does... but how do I really make use of it so it can make magic for me? I guess taking it out of the box is a good start, but that means I actually have to MAKE AN ALBUM!! It actually means I have to read instructions... put this here, put this there, press this, take that out, press that... it's too complicated, it belongs in the too-scary basket. I don't like experimenting, no patience for it. I like to get things right, first up. Ruey has been giving me lots of ideas, but that's not enough for me. I need to see it done to believe it. I'm sure she would strangle me from the other side of the phone line if she could, cos I'm frustrating the crap out of her by procrastinating on opening this machine. She is the complete opposite to me. She will rip the box open so she can play with a new tool kind of person, whereas I have to be confident enough to conquer it before I open it. Otherwise, it will just be a white elephant for me. So for the past few days, all I've been doing, was watching You Tube videos on the Bind It All, the same ones over and over again to convince myself that it's not that hard to use that machine. Am I just weird?

I bought some clear cellophane bags from an eBay seller, to make some lolly bags for the kinder Christmas breakup party. After paying, I requested for a receipt, so I can claim from the kinder. The following was the email conversations that took place....

Me: Dear XXXX Hi... I've purchased 4 packets of polyprop bags from you and have mad payment via Paypal. I would appreciate it if you could provide an official invoice/receipt (with ABN and business name) so I can claim it from work. Please let me know if that's ok.
Thank you.... Michelle

Reply: Dear Michelle, Hi Im not use to providing receipts, so not sure if you want your business name and ABN on it or mine. I can send an invoice though. Hope that makes sense.

XXXX

I don't know about you, but I was gobsmacked. I wonder what rock she lives under but if this person has ever bought something in her life, surely she knows what a receipt is? Do you go into Woolworths to buy something and they give you a receipt with YOUR business name and your ABN on it? I give up with some of these eBay sellers/buyers. If there was a troublesome one, I'll find him. If there was a dumb one, I'll find her too. I'm not saying that I'm the sharpest tool in the shed but come on, a receipt for me with my business name and my ABN????

Nevertheless, my response...

Me: Hi XXXX ... A receipt is just a proof of receipt of my payment and yes, it normally has your business name and ABN on it. But in any case, an invoice is just as good. Although I'll appreciate if you can stamp or write on it that it's been paid. Thanks.... Michelle

****I REST MY CASE****

Was watching Oprah's special event earlier on tonight, interviewing Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman about the movie, Australia. We all know how influential Oprah is in America. Apparently, after that show was aired, she would have done all the hard work for Australia Tourism they can close shop and so many Americans will be coming down under we will be reaping rewards. Jokes aside, I was suitably impressed when Hugh Jackman actually brought over packets and packets of Tim Tams for Oprah and her audience. I never knew that Arnotts Tim Tams are not available in America!!!! Oh you yankees don't know what you're missing! LOL.... Tim Tams!!!! I was soooo hoping he was going to educate them about the Tim Tam Bombs but he didn't ... but then again... the B word is kind of a taboo, maybe that's why he didn't.

OK... I'm going to pull out my Bind It All tomorrow and do something with it. I hope to post back soon with some pics (or you might want to keep emailing me to bug me about it, just to give me a kick up my behind).

Good night. :)

Paperific. Zutter. Sizzle. Sale.

2008-10-24T07:43:00.009+11:00

Back in under 2 weeks???? I'm getting better at this! LOL.... It's been a crazy busy fortnight, full of ups and downs.

I was working at Paperific two Fridays ago, at Scrapware's trade stand. The stand looked amazing with all the new products displayed, as well as the projects contributed by various DT members and Guest DT. These are the projects I did for Angela....

TULIPS Layout - used Karen Day Designs Clouds (KD02), Stems (KD03), Tulip Heads (CH92), Straight Up Lowercase letters.

Spidey layout - using Teen lowercase letters (AZ01), small spider (CH74), small web (CH72), mini bracket frame (CH56)

KINDER album - using Kinder Album, Teen lowercase alphabets (AZ01), Penny 4Ur Thoughts (KD15), Boy Talk (KD13, the spiky hair boy), Circle Strip (KD12) for the page tabs, Zoo Load monkey (CH34), who/what/when/where (JB03)

Blossom canvas - Blossom stem (CH67) and blossom flowers (CH68)

On the following day, it was THE day to meet with the girls from Scrap Therapy. This has been planned for MONTHS!! Lee-Anne, the store owner came down from Cairns for Paperific. So the Melbourne girls decided to make a day out of it. We drove up to Geelong, to visit the new Kaisercraft Discount Retail outlet that stocks deleted and seconds scrapbooking stock. The proceeds from the sale of samples/seconds/discontinued lines go towards the ongoing support of a boy's home in Sri Lanka, 3 Kindergartens in Fiji and a children's home in Philippines. More details here.... The products are all colour-coded and the more you buy from one colour code (regardless of the type of product), the more discount you get. I spotted foam brushes and plain C6 envelopes (perfect for cardmaking) for 9c each if I bought over 100. That wasn't hard at all!!! LOL... I rang a couple of the girls from the Motley Crue and they each wanted some envelopes, so I got 150 envelopes and a dozen foam brushes, all at 9c each. BARGAIN! Next, we proceeded to Paperific. There was some shopping done and I placed a pre-order for the new version of the Zutter Bind-It-All, after much deliberation. Now I can't wait for it to arrive!

On the same day, I also said something mean to a very dear friend that was very uncalled for. Totally inexcusable, and unforgivable. It made her very upset, needless to say. And I felt very gutted, ashamed and disgraced. She accepted my apology, but I still can't forgive myself. I don't know how I can ever make it right again.

But on the other hand, I also found some long lost friends on Facebook. Friends from my secondary school, whom I've not seen for over 20 years. So that felt good.

I had a fundraising Sausage Sizzle at Bunnings (Sunshine) this past Saturday for the kinder. Being in the kinder committee for 2 years in a row, has made me realise how ugly some people are, people who just keep reaping the benefits of others' fundraising efforts. There just isn't any balance between give and take. Not even when we begged for help. If it wasn't for the benefit of the kinder, the teacher, and other more deserving kids, I would have quit this nonsense. We raised over $1000 for the kinder, so that was a very rewarding experience, no doubt I was completely wrecked by the end of the day.

I scrapped on Sunday... made some Christmas cards together with Ruey. She kinda changed my mind about heat embossing.... after a loooong loooong time. I guess I'm looking at buying a heat gun after all! After that, I'll be playing with more Christmas cards this week. :D

FOR SALE: I have 3 paper trimmers for sale on eBay. Pick-up is preferred, but I'm willing to post. Postage is $15 (within Australia). I will refund any change if it costs less. Tell any of your friends who are interested.

Making Memories Precision Trimmer - Rarely used... excellent condition. Link
Cutter Bee Cutterpede Trimmer (HOT PINK!) - Great condition, still fairly new. Comes with straight edge blade AND scallop blade. Link
Creative Memories 30" trimmer - very good condition. Comes with NEW blade. Link

Kids Party. SG Day. Teselaar.

2008-10-14T07:59:00.023+11:00

WOW! I made it back here in 2 weeks!!!!! That must mean something!! But seriously, is anyone still reading my blog? I'm feeling a bit lonely here... talking to myself. If you still read my blog, just leave me a short comment, doesn't have to be praise, I'll take anything! lol... But it's a long one with lots of photos! Get ready...

Kids are back at school / kinder now (read: HUGE RELIEF!!). Many moms look forward to school holidays, at least 9 out of 10 mums do. They say they get to sleep in, there's no rush. Unfortunately for me, my children don't sleep in, not on weekends, not in holidays. They still wake up at about the same time. I don't get to sleep past 7.30am. So for me, holidays are like any given day, except I have more squabbling and bickering to listen to. I doubt anyone would look forward to that, would you?

Anyways, the last few days of school holidays (week and a half ago) was a blur. We went to the cinemas and watched Wall-E which the kids loved (not so much the adults). We brought the kids and our nephew to Peter's office for the Kids' Party. They had an absolute ball. Kids computer games, clown who multi-tasked to be the creative balloon man, face painting, tattoos, food and goodie bags. Then the party was adjourned to the bowling alley and the kids had more fun!

The Balloon Sword Boys...
Flower and swan for the Butterfly-face girl ...Goodie bags always make kids happy!
Hi-fiving after a STRIKE!And another....Ellen's concentration ...

Following day, we went to Sidney Myer Music Bowl for Singapore Day - an event for Singaporeans living overseas. I was really hanging out for this event - can't wait for the food, can't wait to feel like a Singaporean again without having to spend thousands and thousands of dollars! When we got there, I immediately felt like one again, because there was a line to get in. If there's one thing you need to know about Singaporeans, we will queue for anything that is worth getting. If there is a good restaurant, we will queue to get in. It didn't matter if there was another restaurant 2 doors down selling the same kind of food. If this one is the talk of the town, we will queue - no matter how long the line is. If there is something fantastic on offer, we will queue. Years back, McDonald's had these fabulous collection of Hello Kitty plush toys as their weekly toy giveaways. They were decent-sized plush toys, and really good ones and they came in couples. Everytime there was a new release, every outlet will have massive lines of people buying their meals just to get those limited edition toys to complete their collection. Anyway, you get my point. This is the line to get in....
And the line goes on...and on....

We finally got in 1 hour later... yay!

And then there's more lining up inside... FOR FOOD!! FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD ... is Singaporeans' 2nd favourite past time. We love our food... we love eating. So we wait in line again..
Some people are even eating while in queue for other foods! Basically, food to Singaporeans is like honey to bees (or booze to Aussies). When you are at an event like this, and you see swarms of human beings (and in queues), you can be quite sure there's food.
Kids made these cute little bunnies using a face washer, an elastic band, 2 pins and a ribbon.
And our goodie bag which consists of a picnic mat, a cap, a packet of instant noodles (REALLY reminds me of home), Tshirt, bottle of NEWater, wet wipes, a jar of kaya (coconut jam), a jar of cooking sauce and a few other tiny little toys (eg. chatek).
And best of all... we paid nothing. NOTHING!!! We didn't have to pay to get in, all food were free, all entertainment was free, and so were goodie bags! IT'S FWEE! ALL FWEE!!!! Sounds NOTHING like an event happening in Australia! LOL...

Then on Sunday... we went to the Teselaar's Tulips Festival. I've never seen tulips on a scale like this. Here are some photos...
OK... must say I got a bit bored half way through it. There's only so much you can ooh and aah over tulips. It was these little works of art that were displayed alongside the tulips that kept me going ooh and aah! I particularly like these three.....
They are for sale too... but I didn't check out the figures. I really should... cos I would like them in my new house! :D :D

Ok... that's enough bombarding of photos. I have lots more, but will leave them for scrapping. :) I will be at Paperific this weekend. I'm helping Angela at Scrapware's trade stand. A few of us went scrapping at Angela's factory last Saturday. We made quite a few projects to be used at the trade event. I can't show photos of those works yet until the show opens. Will share with you in another post.

Cheers!
mich

Passion-less. Expedit. Try.

2008-09-27T19:31:00.007+10:00

I have not been scrapping. I don't know what has gone wrong, and I don't like that feeling. It just seems like I cannot find time. Well, not that I cannot find time, but when I have time, I'd much rather veg in front of the TV and watch my favourite TV shows and relax. Have I lost my passion for scrapping? THAT is the feeling I'm afraid to confront. I don't want to lose it. The fact that I don't have scrapping space doesn't really help, but surely, I can't always blame it on that? Help me people .... what has gone wrong? How do I get my passion back?

That said, my hubby got very sick of my scrap stash conquering the floors of our study. They are growing like weeds and we can no longer find a path. He got me the infamous Ikea Expedit shelf and has ordered me to clean up or else....yikes.... so I did. It took me nearly a week to sort out all the crap off the floor (and that's just the floor!). I haven't ventured into my dining table stuff yet. :(

These are birthday cards for Ellen's classmates' as she was invited to their birthday parties. I had to make them because I started a trend in her class, didn't I? I can't not make a card for one kid and not the rest! Here they are...

A card and matching envelope using Cosmo Cricket's Cogsmo papers for Peter.

And these are for Trei and Taylah (twins). The chipboard boy and girl were the Crop For Kids embellishments. If anyone is interested in getting them, just let me know. :)

I have made quite a lot of observations lately. Well, since I haven't been scrapping, my mind better be put to good use doing something else, right? :) I won't dump it all in one post but I will start sharing this one with you which rang true to me.

My son's kinder teacher is a lovely lady and obviously, a fantastic teacher. Ellen was taught by her and now Phaedon too. When it comes to computers, she is absolutely clueless. She has one in her office, but it serves its basic purpose in its boring life - for her to type out her reports in Word, print photos and basic email functions. And I mean, basic. I recently showed her how to send an email with attachment and she was elated. When she recently got a new camera and couldn't get her photos printed the same way the old camera did, she was a damsel in distress. I got a big hug from her just by pressing a few buttons and showing her how to minimize a screen to get her back to the desktop. She just couldn't handle the change, the need to learn new technology or new methods to do things. Don't we all?! Especially a new computer, a new camera, a new piece of audio/video equipment, etc. But it just dawned on me, why do we do differently to what we teach? Don't we always encourage our children to try new things, to explore, to venture, to experience and learn? Do we tell them to give up because they can't handle it? Do we tell them it's too hard before they even try? And if you do, please stop. Children don't know what is "too hard" unless you tell them so. If they want to read a book that is a little beyond their level, indulge them. They may well get bored and lose interest, but at least let them try and find out for themselves. You never know, they might really enjoy it. Anyway back to my original point, I challengingly asked her (only because we are friendly), "But you teach our children to try new things, explore new equipment all the time!" And her answer was, "Yeah, but I just never found the need to learn this."

When did we stop trying and decide that new things are too hard to learn? Or worse, when did we decide there is no "need" to learn? Did becoming a mom stop us? Did age? Are there other priorities that precede setting an example for our children?

It was a lightbulb moment for me. I decided I need to be more conscious of how my children will perceive me and how they will learn from me. If I am resistant to change, so will my children, and I don't want that in them. Life is too short for them not to make the best of everyday, or for them to be hindered or deterred if they want to try something. So do it, my friends. Try or learn something new this week, do it for yourself and for your children. If you do... do come back and tell me about it. :)

I didn't mean to be philosophical on my first post after disappearing for so long. hehehe...

On a lighter note, I do have a few "Michelle-you-must-scrap-this" ideas...
1. My son declares that black and white are not colours.
2. My son asked me why I ate him ... looking at the photos of me when he was "in my tummy".
3. The tooth fairy visits....

Have a great weekend. :) :)

Good Food. Relaxation. New Magazine.

2008-08-20T01:28:00.002+10:00

So since my last post.... I don't know how many people are still reading or lurking (I'll settle for lurking). Guess I may just have to start from scratch and build up my 'readership' again..... tee hee

Jorja and Eric invited my family over for dinner on Saturday night. She also had Ruey and family, as well as her friends, Roula, Koulla and Katerina whom I met when we went out to see the movie, Sex and The City. Peter got to meet some new Greek friends and they hit it off straight away. Kids had the Wii to keep them entertained. Of course I had great food and company, the best combination. Jorja, like a typical Greek host, cooked enough food to feed 3 villages. It was an awesome night. My son was upset with me when I called it a night at midnight. Of course, he fell asleep in the car before we even hit the main road. Jorja told me the next day, that her son, Darius commented that Ellen must be a very smart girl. She corrected him that her name needs to be spelled with a capital letter E, and also some other word that was supposed to have an apostrophe. He asked her, "are you the smartest in class?". Being the 'humble' girl she is, came her reply, "Sometimes."

On Sunday, I decided to have my FIL, my SIL and my nephew over for dinner. I saw this Roast Pork from Better Homes and Garden with perfect crackling I had to try making. So we did some shopping for the right cut of pork. I was determined to succeed..... and it turned out exactly like this... MMMmmmmmmmm

http://au.video.yahoo.com/watch/3091341/8797655

I was very impressed by myself. For the first time, we had perfect crispy crackling, as opposed to part crispy part chewy. So were my guests. :) :)

On Monday, I went for a Hot Stones Massage just before I saw my chiropractor. All I can say, is hot-stone me anytime babe! If you live in Melbourne, you would know how ridiculously cold this winter has been. The hot stones on my body felt like hugging your hands around your hot cup of coffee. And the massage was excellent. The warmth, comfort and relaxation ..... I swear I imagined I was in a tropical resort, having an outdoor massage in a hut overlooking blue seas, with my red cocktail next to me just like those postcards you remember seeing. The hour ended too soon.

Tuesday night, I decided I want a seafood dinner. I bought Basa fillets (Ruey got me into this fish) and some prawns. Fish fillets in plum sauce, and Prawns in black bean and garlic sauce. My family loves the way I do basa fillets. My son still won't try prawns but I'll work on that. He's been getting better at trying new foods. My kids' palate are getting more workouts as they get older. We went for Vietnamese Pho (beef noodles soup) and they were slurping the noodles and the soup like a real Asian! I know they'll eat greens like baby buk choy, snake beans, beans, garlic shoots, broccolini, asparagus and peas and I don't need to disguise them, and they'll even ask for seconds. Ellen is obviously more adventurous with food than Phaedon is. Lately, she has upgraded to Birds Eye's crumbed fish fillets (ones I eat for my lunch!) for her school lunch instead of just the kiddy fish fingers! But.... I'm a typical mother.... I'm just happy that my children will eat what I cook. :)

I will be working on some Scrapware albums and some cards for Creative Cardmaking magazine. If you haven't seen the revamped magazine, you should. I hardly call myself a cardmaker but this magazine has cards to suit all interests. If you have been meaning to try cardmaking this magazine has plenty of variety and really clear instructions. The supplies lists are detailed and the photography is amazing. Julia Matthews, previously at For Keeps is now at Derwent Howard Media, and the new look for this magazine, has got her clean style all over it. I also saw on Aussie Pub Calls that she is looking for submissions and has made a call for a magazine DT. It’s past the deadline but she probably hasn’t made any decisions yet. Send submissions to letters@creativecardmaking.com.au

Here’s the press release from Julia:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Press Release
August 19 2008

We’re very excited to be revamping Creative Cardmaking and Papercraft. Our philosophy is simple. We’re filling the magazine with cards you will love to make and everything you need for foolproof results!

There’s something for everyone, and all levels of experience. The Spring issue is packed with projects, 50 cards to recreate plus scrapbooking layouts. The magazine is beautiful to flick through but it’s much more than a gallery, it’s loaded with simple-to-follow instructions and many of the projects come with helpful ‘step-by-step’ photography to refer back to. Each issue also features articles, interviews and reviews to enjoy leisurely over a cup of tea, and plenty of product reviews. More than ever before, cardmakers can break out their supplies with total confidence, knowing that making great looking cards has never been easier!

Creative Cardmaking is onsale in newsagents nationally and in New Zealand. Look out for the free stickers on the cover!

Julia Matthews
Associate Publisher –Craft Division
Derwent Howard Media

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Layouts. Routine. 5 habits.

2008-08-13T14:04:00.002+10:00

Belinda has officially kicked my phat royal bum to update my blog. I've run out of excuses .... so all I can say is sorry. I really really am. Please, someone push me to update my blog when you are sick of coming back and seeing the same old post from a month ago?

Firstly, I'll share some layouts (to make peace). These layouts were done at the Scraptacular retreat in mid July. I don't know... just feel that I am a bit out of touch, they are not very inspiring layouts to me. So .... ordinary? But anyway... here they are. Most of them need journaling (which I haven't had time to do)....

And some cards.... *insert embarrassed emoticon*

Anyways... let's change a topic. While you are badgering me for not updating my blog, I think I've come up with a tiny little excuse. I have been blogging... just not my own blog.... but here... Aussie Scrapbooking. There are many Aussie scrapbookers, including Ruey Enanoria, Mistra Hoolihan, Lee Scott, Sarah Pearcy, Karen McLauchlin, etc etc, who are contributing to that website with a lot of light-hearted articles about scrapbooking. You can easily subscribe to the RSS feed by clicking on SUBSCRIBE on the top panel, and you'll be getting notification of new updates on the website.

So ... I have gone stamping mad lately. No, let's rephrase.... I've gone stamp-shopping mad lately. Stampin' Up new ones from the mini catalogue, Stampin' Up old ones from eBay, Studio G, Inkadinkadoo, Autumn Leaves... and even some made to order stamps too. Not to mention, lots of CHA new buys.... ooops, hubby better not be reading this!

I think I have finally settled down and become a typical school mum. Crawl out of bed a 7am, wake the kids up, make breakfast for them, get their uniforms ready while they are eating, nag at them to quickly eat their breakfast, go brush my teeth and get changed, make their lunchboxes, nag at them to eat their breakfast again, nag at them to brush their teeth and get changed, nag at them to hurry up, comb and tie Ellen's hair, get them to put on their socks and shoes, out the door at 8.15pm. Most of the time, I'll do grocery shopping after that and run any other errands. By lunch time, I have to go pick Phaedon up from kinder, come home and have lunch, then out again at 2.30pm to do school pick up. This is not including the other activities we do. Mondays and Wednesdays, we go straight to Tae Kwon Do from school pick up for both kids, on Wednesdays, Ellen has CPCA (drama/singing/dancing) lessons while Phaedon does TKD. Saturday mornings are TKD again. You like my daily schedule? LOL... I know many of you probably have busier schedules than me, but hey... I'm sure you started off like me too, struggling to get the 24-hour clock work for you. There are things I enjoy out of this though.... I like the gas-bagging I get to do with the school mums and the TKD mums while we wait for our children. I enjoy the adult interaction and the friendships we made.

Kids were sick for about a week leading up to the Olympics ... the longest they have ever been sick for. Constant fevers which we could do nothing about but dosing them up with Nurofen, Panadol and lots of hugs and kisses. Needless to say, I was stuck at home for a week. By the end of the week, supermarket shopping sounded like a holiday! Then one day, they started arguing and fighting over something, and I started yelling. Then I realised... life is back to normal now.

Anyways, enough of this 'days of my life' stuff. So I was doing some supermarket shopping today, and I thought of a fun thing to do. I'll tell you 5 things about my shopping habits, in case you don't know me well enough yet, just so you can have a good giggle what goes on in my head, hahaha...

1. Buying beans - I am a picker, not a grabber. Seriously, I see people just grab bunches and stuff them in the bag. I mean, don't you want to get just the good ones? So yes, I stand there and pick bean by bean.

2. Buying mandarins - I will pick each mandarin and weigh it in my hand, the heavier it is, the juicier it is. I hate mandarins that are dry enough to soak up Murray River.

3. Buying eggs - I will open the carton, push the flap out (has to be out or this won't work), put the cover back on (with flap outside) , tip it so all the eggs get turned onto the cover, open the carton from the bottom, to check that all eggs are perfect, close the carton, flip it back so all the eggs land back into their slots, open carton, push the flap back in, then finally close / lock it. If there is an imperfect egg, or if any egg is stuck in its slot, I will not buy that carton, move on to the next carton and repeat the QC.... hehehehe

4. Unit pricing - I will stand there and calculate which is a cheaper option to buy - the 1kg or the 1.7kg washing powder, the 375g or 500g tub of butter, the 2kg or 3kg packet of sugar. Miser? No way... :) :) :) Wait till you read the next one...

5. I may go into the supermarket with a 'list' of things to buy. But I will still have to go through every aisle in case I miss something. So the 'list' is never just a 'list'. Even my 5yo son knows, 'the list'. He'll ask me before I start shopping,
"Do you have a list?"
"Yes"
"How many things?"
"Just 5"
He'll literally count the number of things I put in the trolley. If it goes over 5, he'll start complaining... "But you said 5!!" I swear my hubby trained him to spy on me.

OK... my dinner is here. Gotta go.... blog again soon! :D

Ebay. Birthday. Layouts.

2008-07-10T01:21:00.003+10:00

OMG.... I so need to be kicked in my behind so bad. I just realised I haven't blogged in my own blog for over 1 month!!!!!!! It just seemed like 2 weeks ago I updated my blog. I am very sorry for neglecting any readers of my blog, if you are still reading that is.

I think a lot of my time went into 'contemplating' -- I contemplated on my kids birthday parties, I contemplated on what to blog about, I contemplated on taking photos of my layouts, I contemplated on selling loads of stuff on eBay in the name of decluttering. Contemplation.... is that a sugar-coated edition of procrastination???

Anyway, in the past month, I have probably done 3 rounds of eBay listing. I seriously had to declutter my house. I finally got my act together (just a little) and brought out the stuff that I really should get rid of, took photos of them and listed them in batches. Kids clothing and shoes, Tupperware, pram, cot, etc etc. I must say it has been relatively successful. I even begged and bribed Ruey to come to my house to raid my scrap stash, so she can make up kits to sell on eBay. In one afternoon, we made up 9 kits with various paper combinations (read: tonnes), added ribbons, buttons, chipboard embellishments and alpha sets. I also have a few sets of Poppy Ink kits from earlier this year which I have not used. As much as I'd like to see them sell at good prices, it is also quite shocking to realise the amount of money we spend on scrapbooking. I guess I don't have to convince anyone here of that, do I?

2 weeks of school holidays is almost coming to an end. We started the holidays with a movie session of Kung Fu Panda which was truly entertaining for both kids and adults. Then we had a birthday celebration at McDonald's for Ellen's 6th birthday with her classmates. It was our first 'outsourced' birthday party. I told myself over the past 5 years, that I need to keep things grounded, and only have small parties at home with family and close family friends, and that she will have plenty of big-ish birthday parties when she starts school cos she would have made friends. She started inviting her friends to her party before I even knew it. Of course, I had to start accepting that 'this is the time' and organised this Macca's party for her. Naturally, she and her friends had a ball. So much so that while the kids were inside the party room, and all the parents were sitting in the dining hall relaxing and watching the kids through a massive glass window, she caught me looking at her, and gave me the biggest smile and two thumbs up. That was enough to convince me that she was happy. Check out these lolly bags I made up for the kids!

Then there was the family birthday party. I made this invitation card for the regular family and friends. Of course, the kids got spoiled with lots of pressies. Toys, textas and loads of colouring equipment, Build-a-bear vouchers (I shall do a show & tell next post), even a small MP3 player for Ellen! Now we hear her do Kylie covers on a daily basis.

And of course, my birthday cake wannabes ..... A caterpillar cake for Phaedon and a castle cake for Ellen.

I also went to Scrap & Chat organised by the lovely Kelly, owner of KitiQ. It was her last Scrap & Chat as the owner because she has sold her business, so it was a farewell crop as such. Here are some of the layouts I finished on the day.

OK.... I think I've bombarded you with enough of updating and photos. Hope you have a lovely weekend ahead.

Cheers!!!

Aussie Scrapbooking

2008-06-03T19:33:00.004+10:00

I would like to introduce you to this new website I am contributing to. Contributing as in writing. YES! (A fist-pumping YES) I finally got to write! And I enjoy writing, did you know that? I like it so much that excitement is an understatement right now. :D :D The website is called Aussie Scrapbooking. It is a scrapbooking resource centre, has a forum, a gallery, free downloads of digital kits, fonts and sketches, a store directory, a blog, information on sales, DT Calls, competition, challenges, retreats and LOADS of other information .... it is like an online power house magazine!! Go check it out!

Not much scrapping I can show off this time. I did a layout, a small project and an album for Addicted to Craft but they are to be used in magazine advertisements and trade shows, so I can't display them yet. Nothing much to report. It's Ruey's and Jane's birthday tomorrow. We are going for their birthday lunch. It'll be fun. Will try and get some pics of the birthday girls. :)

Write again soon!

Singapore. Photos. Layouts.

2008-05-26T16:28:00.002+10:00

It's been almost a month since my last post. I have been really busy -- with Ellen going thru a surgery to remove her first tooth, to travelling to Singapore to renew my passport, to coming home to lots of school and kinder activities, etc, and also trying to think why someone would leave an anonymous comment (which I rejected) to bash me for my last post. Said person got really offended with me "blaming" my children, saying that I if those "little bastards" would be quiet enough, I would probably have locked them up in a closet and left for Bali and no one would know!! And then went on to bash me about spending money on my 'expensive piece of shit' of a handbag, and suggested that if I saved my money, I can take my kids on a holiday and have them looked after at creche the whole time.

My goodness.... this person was truly upset! I don't even know how well he/she knows me, to think (or believe) that I was serious? I guess that's what happens when you blog, and you let people come and read about your daily happenings. They only read about what you write, they don't know you as a person. You'll just have to accept that there are readers out there who could well have had bad experiences at some point in their life, and then take every opportunity they can find, to hide behind an ANONYMOUS nasty comment to break you down because they think they can. You know what, it is my blog. I write whatever I want to, including little evil thoughts sometimes because I'm a human being. I'm not going to cater my blog to only saying nice and angelic things just because I'm afraid of nasty comments.

So yes, Ellen went under surgery to remove her front tooth. Long story cut short, she had a fall about a year ago, and this was the aftermath. Because the tooth was removed at a surgery practice, you cannot take the tooth home with you. So the whole tooth fairy story had to change. The tooth fairy makes special visits to dentists to collect all the teeth removed from children. They will then come to your house at night when you sleep, to give you the money. LOL... anyway, while at the surgery, she was calm and collected right up until the stage where she made the walk to the theatre. I guess seeing hospital beds everywhere, and all the equipment attached to those beds, and then the convoy of doctors/nurses/anaesthetist all in gowns and masks freaked her out, and rightfully so at the tender age of 5. It took 4 grown ups to pin her down on the theatre bed, with her screaming, and a 5th person forced the mask on her face to put her under. No doubt I was still in one piece, it absolutely broke my heart that she had to go through that. The nurses repeatedly asked me if I was Ok and I reassured her I was. I later knew why she kept asking .... because the mother and son team after me, left the poor mother a mess when she was escorted out into the waiting room after her son was put under. She was just beside herself and seemingly very grief-stricken. Apparently many mothers were the same.

Then I made a trip over Mother's Day week to Singapore to renew my passport. Peter had some credit given to him by the airline so my air ticket was heavily subsidised, and I stayed with Gladys, whose apartment is right next to one of my favourite shopping complex. It was a wonderful week. I got to meet Aida, Stasha (Aida's gorgeous daughter) and Jenn for some awesome nasi padang lunch, and then we went to MWL (Made With Love) to have coffee (and shop) with Edleen. I didn't shop much because these girls were shopping and showering me with lots of RAK! It was like Christmas! LOL... these girls are just too nice to me. Oh .... the drinks at MWL cafe are to die for. I ordered a Rambutan Freeze, which was just sooooo refreshingly good on any Singapore day; Aida ordered a Peanut Butter Milkshake, which I probably also unashamedly devoured half. OMG... I've never had anything like it, and I will make them at home now that I know how. ;)

I also spent quite a bit more time with my family than usual, and I'm very pleased with that. We had dinner together twice (once with Chilli Crab and a whole lot of other Singaporean seafood delicacies, and another time at home with Mom's home-cooked food), I took Mum out for sushi lunch once, and Dad and Mum saw me off at the airport when I left. I don't usually get to see them that many times when I go back to Singapore, even when I stay for more than 1 week. So this was one of the reasons that made this trip really pleasant. No doubt I fell sick towards the end, and was missing my husband and kids, and also got tired of shopping (a BIG who-would-have-thought!).

The Sunday after I got back from Singapore, early in the morning at 5am, I was down at Williamstown to meet with the Photography club. There was a field trip organised for us to go to Coode Island to do some photography shots. Look at these photos! They are NOT EDITED in Photoshop at all! Just plain straight from the camera on a tripod, using different apertures and shutter speed.

An overexposed shot of the Bolte Bridge and the city at 6am (F16/30sec)....
A shot of the sheds (?) and boats ....
A shot of the same shed ...
The same Bolte Bridge shot using a wider aperture (F8) and corresponding shutter speed. Can't believe the change in colours just by using a different aperture! I also did a few more layouts before I left for Singapore, some at home, and some at a crop at Ruey's.
Just One - Crate Paper Company papers, Scrapware chipboard borders and journaling bit, and Fancy Pants felt.

Friends - All products from Addicted to Craft. Dream Street papers, Maya Road sheers.

Guilty - Core'dinations cardstock, Sassafras Lass papers, Scrapware chipboard letters and journaling bits, Heidi Swapp and Prima flowers.
Best Mates - All products from Addicted to Craft again. Dream Street papers.

Mojito - Sweetwater papers, Making Memories journal book, Buzz n Bloom chipboard arrow, Heidi Swapp flowers.

Man @ Work - Making Memories paper (background), Chatterbox papers, Doodlebug frill, Hambly frame overlay and rubons, Scrapware journaling bit.

OK, that's all for now. I've taken up too much time to do this. Need to go catch up with some scrapping deadlines. Have a good week ahead!

Anniversary. Drivers. Wok.

2008-05-01T16:48:00.004+10:00

Happy Wedding Anniversary to my husband and me. :D :D 1st May 2000. It's 8 years since the day I put on a black dress and married him in front of his family and friends. To date, we still remembered how the boutique assistants' where I bought my dress, had dropped their jaws when I told them my husband is coming to pay for my dress (which would mean he is going to see the dress) .... they couldn't fathom the fact that we were already living together, and would still be sleeping together the night before, and leaving the house together go to the Registrar! We still remember I've had my hair and make-up all done up, but was starving so we bought some KFC popcorn chicken to pop into my mouth so it won't muck up my lipstick. We also remember going for a movie the night before our wedding cos we were so bored at home!! LOL...

Peter was invited by some big shot bosses at work to go to Bali for some R&R. Spouses were invited but we have no one to leave our kids with, and it costs a few thousand dollars to take them. So I get to miss out.... SO BUMMED... :( :( They stayed in Four Seasons Resort, everyone with their own hut, own pool, gala dinners, tours, massages, ... this is the part where you really feel like blaming your children, no matter how bad it sounds. sigh....

**Anyhoo... I have to add this special paragraph in amongst all the other things I wanted to blog about. Just as I was still lamenting how I missed out on Bali, my hubby came home from work, .... with my wedding anniversary present!!! I could not believe my eyes... an iPod Touch!!! With 32 gB!!! I just briefly mentioned weeks ago... that I've never been interested in an iPod cos I won't get a chance to use it much! In the car I like listening to the radio, at home when I'm on the computer, I have my iTunes on. But I was impressed with the new iPod Touch... it's an iPhone minus the phone! Just a few days ago, I won an auction on eBay for a brand new Alannah Hill handbag (RRP$399) for $190. I had to ask him if I can buy it and he said OK. I thought it would be my anniversary present. But THIS iPod Touch IS my anniversary present. Gotta love him for spoiling me.**

A few vents about Australian drivers. Forget about cars being roadworthy, how about looking at our drivers on the road, and making them roadworthy for a change?

1. Why do we have drivers on the road that drive 10km/h UNDER the speed limit, leave 8 car lengths ahead of them... AND STILL BE STEPPING ON THEIR BRAKES FOR NO RHYME AND REASON????????!!!!!!!!! People NEED to understand, that stopping for no reason causes accidents!!!!

2. Australian drivers need to be re-educated about right of way when driving -- When driving on a main road making a left turn into a minor road, YOU DON'T STOP to give way to cars from the opposite direction trying to make a right turn!!!!!! YOU HAVE RIGHT OF WAY!!!!!! Safety first ahead of courtesy, people! You can be courteous but not at the expense of safety, get it?

Vent over.

I've always had conversations with my western friends about Chinese cooking. The wok is a very important utensil in my kitchen. If my wok dies (and it has not happened since I owned my first wok), I would be a nervous wreck. Once and for all ... my tips, if they are worthy of anything:

1. The best source of heat is FIRE, so gas cooktops are most suitable for woks. Notice there is a special burner on cooktops call wok burners?? And it's usually the biggest momma on the cooktop? That's because intense heat IS essential for the wok. Double- or triple-ring is good. Ever seen Chinese chefs using small pissy fires under their woks?

2. Woks. No need for expensive non stick woks. If you embrace the laws of the wok, a cheapie cast iron one from the Asian grocery shops should last you for decades.

Laws of the wok
a. PRIME - It's seasoning of the wok. Wash it with soap and water (FOR THIS FIRST TIME ONLY AND IT SHOULD NEVER SEE SOAP AGAIN), put it over the burner and let it heat to it's dry and smoking. Pour cooking oil (I use peanut oil as it has a higher burning temp) into the wok and continue to heat the wok, while slowly swirling the oil in the wok. You will need to keep doing this until the inside of the wok turns black, as if it's burnt (probably a 5-minutes process?). Discard the oil safely. Then repeat this process of burning the cooking oil.

This PRIMING process 'seals' the wok. Once it's primed, rinse it in the water AND WATER ONLY. Then you place the wet wok back on the burner, heat it till it's dry.

b. WASHING - You NEVER wash your primed wok in soap EVER again. Everytime you use it, you wash it in hot water with a wok brush or just a scrub. When you start washing it in soap water, is when it will start rusting.

c. DRYING - NEVER drip dry your wok. Avoid cloth-drying as well. You put the wok on a burner and let the heat do the job. Should you worry about any bacteria because you weren't loyal to your detergent, the heat is enough to kill it. ;) (And anything that doesn't kill you makes you stronger.)

d. COOKING - ALWAYS heat your wok till it's smoking before you add oil. And always wait till your oil is very hot before you add ANYTHING into it to cook. How to tell when oil is very hot? When it's smoking. When you cook, you need to hear loud sizzles. You know how you go to a Chinese restaurant and a waiter holding a black hot plate of some kind of stir fry walking past you? THAT is the sizzle you want to hear. No sizzle, no stir fry.

e. REMOVING STAINS - if you get food stuck on your wok, it's probably because you haven't got the wok hot enough. However and occasionally, food does get stuck because of the caramelising of the seasoning/food. DO NOT WASH WITH DETERGENT!!! Slap your hand everytime you think about using detergent on your wok. Just soak in hot water and some scrubbing will do the job.

I hope I've shed some light about the wok. Enjoy your stir fries.

I did some layouts over the weekend at a crop at Ruey's. Will take some pics tomorrow and share. It's way past bed time now... 2.35am...eeeks. Good night!

Tips. Layouts. Wakakirri.

2008-04-16T23:06:00.004+10:00

I went to a crop on Sunday and produced 5 layouts!!!!!!!!! YES!!! 5!!!!!!! My record to-date was 9 layouts at a weekend retreat! Therefore, 5 in a day is my personal best! And here I was thinking I was going to chat all day at the crop because I so wasn't in the mood to scrap! Apparently, planning your layouts actually helps. I know many of us dread hearing that but hear me out. I used to hate (perhaps more like lazy and/or disorganised) 'planning' my layouts for a crop too. I just wanted to go with the flow. So I'll be bringing my entire paper stash, 6" high of American Crafts alphas, 6" high of Heidi Swapp alphas, colour-coded ribbons and probably even my fancy Clip-it-up, that would put the scrapbook shop at the crop venue to shame. People would almost come shop with me than at the shop, if I took credit card. But here's the thing: don't think that 'planning' a page means you have to have the entire page all laid out, with the exact embellishment and title in mind. I couldn't do it. I realised that for me, the biggest hurdle for all my layouts, was having the right photo and the papers. Once I have decided on the photo and papers, then I can exercise that part of "go with the flow". I printed 6 photos, and chose the papers I wanted to use and just brought those to the crop. I still brought along my 6" high of American Crafts alphas, 6" high of Heidi Swapp alphas and colour-coded ribbons, (come on... gimme a break! These are my indulgence.) and a few pieces of extra cardstocks. I actually managed to fit everything into my rolling tote and my All My Memories swivel tote thingy, and travelled light to a crop for once, and managed to do 5 pages!

So think about it... what is your biggest hurdle when scrapping a page? Try part-planning your page to make your day-out more productive (if productivity is what you are aiming for).

Time to share my pages with you.

Cooker - this conversation I had with DD was most recent and I had to scrap it before I forgot.
Products - Sassafras Lass papers, American Craft letters, Bazzill cardstock, Heidi Swapp and Prima flowers.

D is for Diet - One of the products my best scrapper friend, Ruey swears by... stickers for instant gratification. These stickers are soooo funny.
Products - Creative Cafe papers and diecuts, 7 Gypsies stickers.

Cool Dude - a layout of my nephew in Singapore.
Products - Bazzill cardstock, Jenni Bowlin paper, Hambly Studio overlay, Making Memories diecut journal block, American Craft letters, Maya Road sheer journaling spot, buttons.

A View from the Top - Pics of us at the Wineglass Bay lookout in Freycinet (Tasmania).
Products - Prima paper and flowers, October Afternoon rubon letters, American Crafts letters, Maya Road sheer journaling spots, buttons. (ADDICTED TO CRAFT range of products)

Just A {spunk!} - Photos of my nephew playing in my backyard (scraplifted Ruey Enanoria) It's not often that I do a layout without journaling, but this one is truly just a pretty layout, and the title says it all. Doesn't it?
Products - Bazzill cardstock, Crate Paper patterned paper, Hambly Studio overlay, Luxe Designs rubons, Creative Cafe brads, American Crafts letters.

We are very very excited for Ellen. She went for an audition at school and has been selected to participate in the Wakakirri this year. Many people haven't heard about this. So this is the website... http://www.wakakirri.com/tour1a.htm It is a multi arts festival for schools in Australia. Schools are encouraged to participate and be creative, create their own story/dance for the kids to perform. It is a competition and eventually, there will be a state and a national winner. We are not too fussed if the school won, but would just love for her to have the opportunity to be exposed to the experience. I can already imagine myself turn to a pool of tears on the day of the performance in August. LOL...

Anyways.... it's late and my bed has been calling me since an hour ago. I'd really like to post my Tassie photos but I'll have to do a raincheck. Good night.

WINNER - Scrapware Giveaway!

2008-04-11T17:56:00.005+10:00

THANK YOU to everyone who left a comment. It's great to see so many of you de-lurk. I hope you continue to hang around.

I have 'picked' the lucky winner of the Scrapware Giveaway. Unlike many fancy Excel gurus, I have no idea how to generate a random winner. So if you know how, please feel free to share. I stuck to my late Grandmother's traditional method of "lucky draw". She makes us kids do the lucky draw to pick her lucky numbers to play Singapore's 4D (4 Digits... some kind of lottery).

A little Chinese trivia for you - the superstitious Chinese like to go to the temples to pray, and ask for their fortune to be told. To do that, you have to be on your knees, hold these bamboo containers with a bunch of bamboo sticks in it. These are called Fortune Sticks. Each stick is labeled with a number/code. You are meant to hold the bamboo container in both hands and shake the container till one stick falls out of the container (and only one! If two falls out, you have to put them back in and do it again). Seems easy? NO WAY! But that's not the point. ANYWAY, then you take the 'chosen' stick to the fortune teller to get it "decoded". I've printed out all your names, squished them up and placed them in a bowl, and kept shaking it till one name - the chosen one, 'popped' out of the bowl.

AW WIGHT! I won't keep you in suspense any longer. The winner of the Scrapware Giveaway is.....

(would you like your fortune told?)

(just kidding...)

(but I can tell one thing for sure... )

(you've won a $20 Scrapware prize!)

(ok, ok... I'll shut up now)

JEN!!!!

I'm a lurker too..love your work Michelle. We use to be in the same EB sept group. :)

CONGRATULATIONS, JEN!!!!!!!! I'll forward your email addy to Angela for her to send you the prize!

I'm going to an all day crop organised by Simply Scrapbooking on Sunday. Have been dying to go to a big crop for ages... wished I could have sat down and scrapped at Crop For Kids but of course, that was just wishful thinking. So a few of us (Jess, Suzanne, Jorja and myself) are going to make this a "make-up" crop for what we've missed out. :)

OK. That's all for tonight. I'm tired and brain dead, if you haven't yet noticed the nutty incoherence earlier.

Till next time.... take care!

SIA releases... yummmm

2008-04-09T20:24:00.014+10:00

So... the SIA trade event is over. I did 2 projects for Angela (Scrapware) to display at her stand. I don't know if anyone knows, I'm a big chipboard fan. Crazy over it. I don't know how to create a layout that is flat! When I got onto the Scrapware Design Team, I told myself I would be in heaven. And I am. :) :) :)

The new range of chipboards we got to work with, which were released during the trade show, are absolute must-haves for any scrapper IMO. Not only am I a chipboard junkie, I'm now a journaling block junkie. In this 12x6 ringed book, the new Journaling Bits are frequently used, in variations. Some are cut with appended words (eg Notes, The Facts, Details), some have shapes of crown/skulls/star "cut in", some are just date blocks ( 3 sizes).... etc etc. The grooves in the chipboard act as the lines to journal on. You can ink them, paint them, glimmer mist them, stamp on them, or use them a la natural! (If you paint and the paint gets into the grooves, don't fret. Just use your cutting knife to go through the groove when the paint is dry to remove the paint.) Now, you have no excuse not to journal your pages! :)

There is also a new range of products called Word Trios (set of 3 words). They come in many many themes, and their sizes are just perfect for albums as well as layouts.

Karen Day, who is also on the Scrapware Design Team has designed some uber cute chipboards... clouds, birdie, trees, ... Go check out her blog post (about Karen Day Designs) and you'll all agree that they are just tooooo cute and you OUGHT to get some! I've used some clouds in this following layout (and another journaling bit!).

OK... That's all I have to share with you for now. Keep the comments coming on my RAK post (closes Thursday night)! You might just win yourself $20 worth of Scrapware goodness!

RAK TIME!!!!

2008-04-04T12:18:00.009+11:00

It has been 3 weeks since I last blogged. The last 3 weeks have whooshed past me like Hurricane Go-Go-Go. First it was Crop For Kids, then our Tasmania holiday then catching up with DT work for Angela (Scrapware) to bring to SIA - Scrapbook Industry Australia Trade Event that is happening on 8th and 9th April (aka this weekend!). So I haven't had time to look at any blogs, let alone update my own.

But who is to say I can't make a LOUD come back starting with a gorgeous GIVEAWAY from Scrapware?!?!?!?! Just take a look at these sneak peeks! Journaling bits, date blocks, clouds, birdies, stems, trees, word trios ....

These new Scrapware products will be launched at the SIA show. So get your LSS to place their orders pronto! I will show you the rest of the layout as soon as it goes to the SIA show next week.

GIVEAWAY TIME!!!! If you are still reading my blog, and would like to win $20 worth of products from Scrapware, just leave a comment. You'll be getting these goodies before they even hit the shops! OPEN TO OVERSEAS READERS TOO!
I will close this on Thursday (10th April 2008) 11pm AEDST and do a random draw.

The last time I told the story about my daughter in Singapore (on my Jan 16th birthday post), I received many nice and warm responses, 34 of them. I can't believe so many people read my blog! Let's see if we can get these numbers again :) :) I know, I know.... I was supposed to draw a RAK prize from those who commented on that post because I was the birthday girl. Months have gone past, my good friend, Ruey reminded me that I haven't done that. I nearly killed myself with shame. I AM AWEFULLY SORRY. I will now draw 3 names out of those comments.

Winners of my long-overdue-birthday RAK (I even feel embarrassed giving this RAK now)...
1. kristine
2. belinda
3. mel nunn

I will email you girls separately to get your mailing address. :)

So keep your comments coming! I will post about my Tassie trip soon. :)

Tagged by Ruey

2008-03-13T17:55:00.002+11:00

I was tagged by Ruey. We are foodies... so when she got this tag, she can't not tag me. hehehe ....

6 unimportant facts about MY food.....

1. I am not a cheese fan, especially hate the smell of parmesan (smells like baby puke). But I won't say no to plastic cheese in my sandwiches .... hehehe (Note: plastic cheese... the colloquial term given to cheese individually wrapped in plastic, a la Kraft style)

2. I am married to a Greek, but I don't like much of Greek foods ... eg capers, olives, feta cheese,
dolmades.... etc. Tried it many times, still don't like it.

3. I love sushi. When I was pregnant with Ellen and still working in the city, since I cannot have raw fish, I resorted to eating California Rolls for lunch everyday.

4. I love the smell of coffee but I don't drink it. However, I would order a white chocolate mocha from Starbucks, with an extra shot of white chocolate, so there's more white chocolate than there is espresso. Not quite a coffee, but that's as much coffee as you can get into me.

5. I never used to eat lamb until 2 years ago because everywhere I had tasted lamb (which would be Greek gatherings from hubby's side of family) they would cook it till it's well done, making the meat dry and tough and chewy, and smells 'lamby'. I HATE chewy meat, with a passion. Eating should never require effort. I should not have to be burning calories while I'm eating. So now, I would only eat lamb if I cooked it, i.e. tender.

6. I love my Prima packaged sauces. That's the only way I can have authentic Singaporean dishes from Australia. There are many ingredients required to make delicacies like Laksa, Chicken Curry, Rendang, Mee Goreng, Mee Rebus, Bak Kut Teh, Chicken Rice, satay, sambal dips... etc etc etc ... And most of these ingredients are not readily available in Australia. No Asian restaurant I've been to (and I've tried countless) have made Laksa the way it is supposed to be. So Prima sauces ... easy, and readily available... what more can I ask for??

5 more sleeps to CROP FOR KIDS

2008-03-10T21:04:00.002+11:00

We are counting down!! It's 5 more sleeps to the big day for CROP FOR KIDS 2008. We have goodie bags, games, raffles, make n takes, shopping, more raffles, door prize, goodie bags, trash & treasure, lucky envelopes ..... and did I mention raffles and goodie bags? I'm letting you in on 2 little secrets .... the goodie bag is worth more than your ticket price, and we have more raffle prizes than headcounts. You do the math!!

If you have ever thought of coming to a crop, this is THE crop to come to. I'm gonna let you in on one more secret .... and I promise I won't kill you after telling you .... our raffle prizes are HUGE! How does a colour printer sound? A Cuttlebug? A Clip It Up to organise your scrapbooking products? Or how about accommodation at Novotel hotel? A scrapbooking wheely tote???? Yes! One of those you've been wanting for ages to go to crops with? Hundreds of dollars of scrapbooking store vouchers?

It's still not too late to book for and pay for your ticket NOW! Spread the word to ALL your scrapbooking friends. Help us help the children. If you need me to help you book your tickets, let me know. I'll gladly provide the service. :) :)

TKD. Fajita. Layouts

2008-03-01T18:01:00.002+11:00

All right, all right. I'm so toast. I haven't been blogging for over 2 weeks. I'm not dead, just consumed with school, kinder and Crop For Kids. I have layouts and photos to show though... anyone still reading my blog?

Well... I can't remember a lot of what has happened over the last 2 weeks. I just know that DD is doing very well in school, as well as her Tae Kwon Do. Took some pics of her having fun as a Little Ninja ... (technically, TKD is Korean and Ninja is Japanese..... another case of Asian Confusion ... sigh... )

As Phaedon is not ready to join as a Little Ninja yet, he is in the Little Joey's class. And a parent has to be in the class with Little Joeys. These are pics of him and me ....

A few days ago, I was in an adventurous mood and decided to go Mexican for dinner. Not that I'm not adventurous with food. I, on the contrary, have a diverse palate. I'm just restricted to what I cook at home because I can't be bothered coaxing my kids to try something new. Lately, I've seen a change in my son's eating habits. He recently asked for THE GREEN FINKS in my Chinese stir fry (aka garlic shoots), .... and ate it .... and went mmmmMMMmmmm ..... and asked for more!!!!! And he has since tried snow peas, and sugar snap peas too. If you are a mother who has difficulty trying to feed your children anything green, you'd know what relief I felt.

Anyway, back to Mexican. OK... it is technically not truly Mexican, but rather a fusion of Texan with Mexican - Fajitas using Chili Con Carne ...heheheh.... Mexican because I had tortillas, guacamole, tomato salsa and lettuce; Texan because I made Chilli Con Carne instead of the usual Fajita filling (mind you, this Chilli Con Carne has no chilli in it for the children's sake). The result .....

... BIG THUMBS up from Ellen and Peter. Ellen loved it so much, she had a 2nd helping with my 2nd tortilla. Hence the 4th pic of the ingredients on my plate with no tortilla!! Phaedon on the other hand... still did the wrap but did it only with the rice and some leftover meatballs from another dinner, which to me was still a major achievement because he tried very hard to hold the wrap properly in his little hands, though he made quite a mess, but still managed to finish eating his wrap. So I'm rapt!!

OK .. layouts time. My first lot of DT layouts for Scrapware.

Teddy Bear Picnic - I used 2 of their 12" half flowers to make one full flower and scrapped on it. Lil Davis papers, Hambly overlay, Heidi Swapp bloom, Fontwerks journaling stamp, Creative Imaginations brad, American Crafts thickers.

Pirate - A simple layout using Pirate word, and mini skulls. Bazzill cs, Scenic Route papers and diecut arrows, Lil Davis journaling stamp.

1st Day @ Prep - Using Scrapware scalloped borders, scalloped rectangles, word - '1st' and '@'. Love Elsie paper, American Crafts thickers, MM paints, Fontwerks date stamp.

Thank you for your patience and if you are still dropping by, thank you for thinking of me (or having me on your bloglines).

Tagged :)

2008-02-14T19:51:00.002+11:00

I was tagged by Trish and Jorja. :)

You must post the rules before you give your answers. You must list one fact about yourself for each letter of your middle name. Each fact must begin with that letter. If you don't have a middle name, just use your maiden name. After you've been tagged, you need to up-date your blog with your middle name and answers. At the end of your post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. (Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and need to read your blog for details). My maiden name was HONG.

Honest
Opinionated
Narcissistic!! LOL...
Generous

Now I'm tagging... Kim, Belinda, Aida and Christie. Have fun!!

KUNG HEI FATT CHOY

2008-02-11T00:40:00.000+11:00

We had a FANTASTIC week and weekend.

Tuesday - the kids had an intro class at Tae Kwon Do. They were given a set of "dobok" (the TKD white uniform) each to put on and they looked really cute in them. SHAME on me, I forgot my camera. They had a private session with the instructor to "access" them, to see where they are at in terms of gross motor skills. Turned out, Ellen enjoyed the class more than Phaedon. So much so she wanted to do TKD over dance!

Thursday - 1st day of CHINESE NEW YEAR. If I was in Singapore, I wouldn't need any reminding. Ruey told me in the morning that it is Chinese New Year today. And on the first day of CNY, it is bad luck to use sharp objects, eg knives and scissors, because it will "cut off" any luck you might have. So to take advantage of this tradition, it's Ruey's and my tradition to not cook on Chinese New Year day!!! LOL She had made reservations at a restaurant for dinner, and invited us to come along. So the Vasses gate crashed the Enanorias' CNY dinner. :D :D It was yummy food, and great company. It was great to see them again after so many months of them being away. Lots of chat about their holidays, which was really interesting to hear about.

Saturday - 2nd intro at TKD for the kids, but this time, Ellen went into the Little Ninjas class while Phaedon did Little Joeys cos they said he wasn't quite ready. I actually feel very bad for Phaedon. When Ellen started dance, he wanted to do dance too. But I have serious doubts of his gross motor skills, so I told him he could do something else, and TKD was going to be HIS activity. Then Ellen got curious and wanted to try out to which I couldn't say no to, and then she loved it and decided to do this over dance! Now Ellen gets to wear the dobok, and he only gets to wear a Little Joeys' Tshirt! The poor boy wasn't too impressed. When it was his turn for the class (which involves parent, i.e. yours truly), we did lots of running around, punching and kicking, jumping.... etc. My poor BODY!!!! has not gone through this much "activity" for years!!! He had some laughs but his attention span was short-lived. But I do want to persist on this. We are pulling him out of swimming because of the same reason. But because parents were not required in the pool, and the teacher couldn't always do 1-on-1 with him, so his mind just wanders off to do his own thing and doesn't take it quite seriously. With this, at least he has me breathing down his neck (THAT I'm quite capable of), getting his attention, and doing fun stuff with him, and I get a workout too.... LOL. I kinda enjoyed it as well! Hmmm... maybe I should....

Sunday - We made an impromptu decision to go into the city for the CNY festival. We arrived just in time for the lion and dragon dances. Kids called it the BOOM BOOM LIONS.... LOL. It was PACKED!!!! We were SQUASHED ... literally! We had to put kids on our shoulders so they could see the dances. It's OK for Peter cos he's tall, it's GREAT for the kids, but Shorty Me could only see everyones' backs. I got plenty of sound effects cos we were sooooo near the actual dance. I managed to catch glimpses of some dragon head, that's all. When the dance finished, they pushed us all further back, squashing us even more, cos they were going to lit the firecrackers right in front of us! I must admit, growing up in Singapore, I have never seen firecrackers because they were illegal. For as long as I've lived, I've never seen or heard firecrackers LIVE! So this was truly an eye & ear opener for me! Certainly so for the children! :) :) I didn't bring my camera with me, so I don't have any nice piccies... but just as well, it could well be squashed!

Then we had lunch and decided to go visit some friends who live close by. We bought some cakes and desserts along, had some coffee and cake, chit chatted, kids played and left in the evening. Then I suggested to Peter, that we should go to Southbank where there were more CNY festivals. This time, it was mostly food..... MMMmmmmmMMMmmmm . Hawker stall after hawker stall of food, glorious food. Then there was more lion dances! Another shoulder-breaking session. Peter finally took both kids on his shoulders... which I had to take a shot of with my phone camera :)

Isn't that such a scrapable photo? hehehehe... We bought some Mongolian lamb skewers, chicken satay skewers, Deep fried Octopus tentacles, and spring rolls and sat by the river bank to eat them. It was a really fun day out for us. Kids just had an absolute ball with the BOOM BOOM LIONS and the food. I'm glad we did it because I think my children do miss out on being "real Chinese" sometimes because I'm so not a typical one?

On that note, I had better put some money in a "hong bao" and give one to each of them. It's a token red envelope packet where the elders put some money in, and give to the young on CNY eve to ward off evil and bring good luck, and for them to grow up in health and wellness. It might have come a bit late, but better late than never I guess? :)

KUNG HEI FATT CHOY is Cantonese for Congratulations, wishing you lots of prosperity and fortune!

Preppy Photos. Plum. Personality.

2008-02-04T17:58:00.000+11:00

So here are some pics of DD's first day at school as promised. :)

Summer dress, hat, school bag (with her bag tag made with Mommy's love) :D :D

She was soooooo tired, she fell asleep in the car on the way home.
Poor thing.....

Not only was she tired, she made me tired too! I can't remember when was the last time I had to wake up at 7.00am!!! Losing 2 hours of sleep, doesn't just make you go feel tired 2 hours before your regular bed time. It completely knocks you out all day! Man! I could not concentrate driving, I welcomed a forum newbie by a name that's not hers, congratulated another forum member but spelt her newborn baby's name COMPLETELY wrong! I don't know if anyone remembered one of my entry last year this time when Ellen started kinder.... I left my front doors opened while I left to pick her up? Yah... I'm just about there right now...

For the 1st 3 days at school last week, she could not finish half her lunches! This is coming from a girl who cries hunger every other hour when she's at home. One day, she even complained that her lunch is cold. Oooops... can anyone tell who she got that from? :D I basically told her to suck it up, that's life at school babe! LOL.... And I see layouts coming soon, especially with the last photo. :)

2 posts ago I said I was going to make my Plum Jam. I finally found a few decent jars. 2 hours later, I was about to pour my jam into the sink. It just wouldn't set! This is when I started googling for topics like "JAM NOT SETTING"... THEN I found out that my plums, though high in pectin (hence no jam setting sugar required), are now too ripe. Plums that are too ripe start losing their pectin. AND cooking it for too long also causes pectin to break down. So the solution??? Label them as PLUM SAUCE. Use them as glaze. NOW I HAVE 5 JARS OF PLUM SAUCE... ANYONE WANTS SOME???????

DT NEWS!!!

I have been selected to be on Scrapware's new Design Team!! Yippee!!! Chipboards!! Wood!! I am in the company of some awesome scrappers...

Kim Arnold, NSW http://kimarnold.typepad.com/
Karen Day, QLD http://karen-day.blogspot.com/
Cassandra Glass, QLD http://www.scrapcass.blogspot.com/
Coby Kooy, VIC http://www.rebelwithacause.typepad.com/
Kathie Link, SA http://kathielink.blogspot.com/

Can't wait to get started! :) :)

And of course, I visited Kim's blog and she had this personality test thingy which I couldn't resist finding out what type I am....

You Have A Type B+ Personality

You're a pro at going with the flow
You love to kick back and take in everything life has to offer
A total joy to be around, people crave your stability.

While you're totally laid back, you can have bouts of hyperactivity.
Get into a project you love, and you won't stop until it's done
You're passionate - just selective about your passions

Do You Have a Type A Personality?

Go for it! Just for fun. :)

FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL!!

2008-01-30T19:23:00.000+11:00

It was Ellen's first day at school. She was happy to go to bed early the night before, and reminded me to wake her up if she was still sleeping in the morning. LOL...

She was SOOOOOOO excited, I can't even begin to tell you how. VOLUNTARILY got changed into her uniform (summer dress), asked me to tie her hair, put on her socks and shoes and patiently waited for the rest of us to get ready. I made her a ham and cheese sandwich, cut several cubes of cheese, sticks of carrot and cucumber, several grapes and 8 rice crackers. I then found her dress too long, and started hemming it at 8am. kekeke....

There was absolutely buckley's chance of finding a parking spot near the school compound. We had to park 2 blocks down and walked. She was a little nervous, according to Peter who was holding her hand when they walked into the classroom. Apparently she clenched, probably overwhelmed by all the kids and adults. But as soon as she found her hook for her school bag, found her name tag and met the teacher, she was all cool. In fact, she turned around and hugged and kissed us goodbye before we were ready to go! Talk about nervous!

They start off with full days straight up. Parents were allowed to call the school to check on their progress, but we didn't feel the need to. So come pick up time, she was the last one to get picked up!!! Can you tell we are 'relaxed'?? LOL... The teacher said she was her little helper ... always eager to help out. There was a girl in the class who was a bit asthmatic and needed some treatment in the nursing bay. Ellen walked her there a few times after she was shown where the sick bay was! And we missed orientation as we were overseas!

I took some photos of her today, but will post them another day. It's late now... better go to bed early so I can wake up tomorrow for her 2nd day at school!

I 'SEEM' like a very busy woman.....

2008-01-21T10:10:00.000+11:00

Thank you very much to all the wonderful people who left me a comment from my previous entry. I truly appreciate the support I have from all of you. I am also very touched by the fact that although we only "know" each other through a craft, it never stopped people from caring. I sincerely thank all of you, and for your words of encouragement.

For what it's worth, one of the comments was left by Vickie's school counsellor, in her presence. Thank you, Kee Peng. I am grateful of the time you are spending with her, chatting to her.

So .... to show my appreciation, I will actually draw 2 prizes, from everyone who left a comment. I will announce it next post.... this is too long a post :D I had a wonderful day on my birthday. Presents, not that much. One of my girlfriends, Jorja, bought me a $40 voucher to spend at the Stampin' Up workshop I'm having in February, DH got me a birthday cake, Jess baked some gorgeous cupcakes at the Crop For Kids meeting. My best friend, Ruey who is now having a good time in Las Vegas, promised me she'll make me some Philippino lumpiah when she gets back. MMmmmm... I love lumpiah. Although, I suspect it is a training and handover session as well so she won't be the only person who knows how to make it. That means, whenever there is a get together with our mutual friends, I will have no excuse to say I don't know how to make them! LOL ... But never mind, we'll find a way to share the load .... hehehe

============================================

CROP FOR KIDS ... tickets are now available for sale.
Event: Crop For Kids All-Day Fundraising Crop
Date: Saturday, 15th March 2008 (the weekend before Easter)
Time: 10am to 5pm
Venue: Springvale City Hall in Springvale
Price: Tickets are A$30.00 per person

EMAIL US AT ..... cropforkids@gmail.com

Group bookings will be available for groups of 8 or more. This not only guarantees that you will sit together, but as an added incentive to book as a group, there will be a special draw on the day for one group to win a small prize. Group bookings must be paid for in one payment, and the payment must be received within 1 month of booking via cheque or direct deposit.

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Dance and TKD

So a few things have happened since my birthday. It's almost been 2 weeks! Yikes... So I've signed my daughter up for a dance class. She is doing Jazz & Tap and she started today! It was quite funny to watch actually. She looked a bit klutzy :) . All the other kids were in their hot pink leotards, gorgeous skirts and proper shoes. It was a 3-5 yo class and most have done the class for a while now, so all the more she looked like she has 2 left feet! LOL... but she said she had fun and wants to come back next week!

As for the little man, we think we are going to try him out in Tae Kwon Do. Will take him for an introductory class, see how he likes it. The centre we are taking him to calls the 4-6 year olds, Little Ninjas. So we told him, he's going to learn to be like the Ninja Turtles... LOL

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Plum Jam

This year is just unbelievable. We have had so many fruits from our fruit trees in the backyard! Trees I never thought existed because they never produced any fruit for as long as I've lived here! So we've had bucket loads of plums and nectarines (I even did a layout on the nectarines!) So I decided on Friday to try making a Plum Jam. You think I had any luck finding flippin' PRESERVING JARS?????!!!!!!!! I swear, over the past 3 days, I went to 4 supermarkets, Target, BigW, 4 kitchenware stores, Ikea, ..... it's like I'm trying to activate a Homemade Jam Revolution!! No one had the twist-top preserving jars!!! It's ridiculous! So we have to go into our fridge and empty out jars of half-used sauces and what not, just to wash them out and sterilise them, so I can store my first-attempt-homemade-plum-jam... and I don't even know how successful I'm going to be? Or if the plums are still going to be all right by the time my jars are ready!!!

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More Scrapping

I've done more scrapping - cybercrop challenges, 123 Challenge and DT work for Addicted to Craft. :)

A 'Juvenile' Birthday Card - Scrunched and inked Kraft cardstock and the core of some cardboard, and used a Kaisercraft chipboard dinosaur.

Sweet! - a layout using the colours of Scrap Therapy (bluey-green with pink)

Nectarines Galore! - My nectarines layout! This was Belinda's Blind Challenge on Scrap Therapy. If you want to take the challenge, just click on the link. :)

Addicted to Craft DT layouts
Decade of hairstyles - Scribble Scrabble papers and diecuts, American Crafts chipboard letters, Doodlebug letter stickers,

Beautiful - Scribble Scrabble papers, DaisyD's title rubon, Prima Marketing flower, Maya Road Office Sheers

Time to go - Dream Street Papers, Doodlebug letter stickers and Hambly Journaling overlay

Why that Tongue? - Dream Street papers, Doodlebug letter stickers, American Crafts chipboard thickers, Maya Road chipboard letter and Office Sheers, Everlasting Keepsakes chipboard star.

123 Challenge
How many candles..? - My first-ever 123 Challenge layout! Yay me!!! hehehe...

I know time flies.... I just don't know where to???? I still have a list of Crop For Kids 'admin' work to do .... and DD is going to start school in 2 days! I don't know how to pack her school bag! She doesn't have a pencil case yet! And I need to go grocery shopping tomorrow to make sure I have enough in the pantry to make her snacks and lunch! DS is starting kinder in 3 days, I can't wait to have a few hours of free time to clear my head!

Have a great week ahead!

Another year older. Another year wiser.

2008-01-16T14:06:00.000+11:00

Yes, today is my birthday. My 38th. Have you ever imagined how your life would be like at 38 when you were 18? People only look forward to milestones, they look forward to 16, 18, 21, 30... actually, some don't really look forward to 30. They think they are getting old. Don't you just shake your head and feel like shaking them up when 27 or 28yo girls tell you that they are afraid to turn 30 because that's "old"?

Did you look forward to those 'milestones' when you were much younger? And did you stop celebrating birthdays after you turned 30 because you thought life is just about over the hump so there's nothing to celebrate?

I didn't. I loved it when I turned 30 and loved reaching my birthday every year after that. No different today. I even look forward to my next milestone... the 40th! I don't know why. I just am. It might sound tacky to you, but I do celebrate life. OK... there are lots of day-to-day frustrations and mundane stuff that I may whinge about, but seriously, life in the big picture is good. I have a roof over my head, and I have my healthy family, we are living in a country with no war and killings. What's not good about life? And with that... I'd like to share a part of me that I've not shared with many before.

Most people do not know, I have had a previous marriage, in Singapore. I got married at 21, and gave birth to a baby girl when I was 23. We named her Vickie. When we split in 1997, I made a very hard decision to let him have custody of her. My rationale was he has a close-knit family, and his mom has always helped us look after her, whereas I would be a single mum, with no support, my mom works, so there will be no way I could have supported her. I honestly felt that she would be better off with them. For all these years, and I still do, I questioned myself, my conscience .... could I have done anything differently? To make matters worse, I dropped communications with her for many years. I tried keeping it up when I first moved here to Australia, but then the number of times I call her cut down. Then there were none. As the lapse between phone calls got bigger, I felt more and more embarrassed to pick up the phone again. I just didn't know what to say? I'm sorry? I didn't think it'll cut it. Effectively, I was responsible for losing contact. I was never there for her when she was growing up. I wasn't there for her when she had great results for her exams. I wasn't there for her when she needed a mother.

As the years went by, I became more and more guilt-ridden. My 2007 resolution was to contact her again. And I did. It took me a while to compose that first email, but I eventually did it. There was no reply from her after 3-4 emails, but one day, she replied. Didn't say much, but she replied and that was ALL I wanted. I wasn't expecting her to forgive me. I wasn't expecting her to warm up to me. I was expecting her to hate me.

We are now on each other's MSN. I will have lots of monologue sessions, sometimes decorated with monosyllable answers. Again, it's a start. I have literally abandoned her for so long, I really don't expect her to fall in love with me again. I'm just grateful that she is not logging off MSN in the midst of our conversation.

I know this is very private and many people may not want to know about this. But I've battled this dilemma for a long time, and I don't think I want to hide her existence. She exists in my life, she has been a part of my life for 14 years. I cannot turn back the clock and undo what I did, but I can make changes from now on. I am responsible for the void that I've left in her life. I would love for her to be part of my family too, when she is ready. I'd love to scrapbook about her, except I don't really have photos of her other than those she took of herself with her phone. So, I'll work on that.

So there.... it's out. I have a 14yo daughter in Singapore. Her name is Vickie. She's in Secondary 3 (Year 9 equivalent). I am not sure how she would feel about this if she ever read it, but I'd like to honour her existence, for no better word.

When you have recovered from shock, picked up your jaws from the floor, and now change your mind about what kind of person I am, you can make a comment on this post, perhaps wish me Happy Birthday, or perhaps even say HI to Vickie. I have a little something to giveaway because today, I am Birthday Girl so I can. Leave a comment by Friday midnight. I will draw the name on Saturday.

(And before any blog smackers come in and start any form of abuse, you can save your breath. Nothing you say are things that I have not already said to myself, so go find something new to amuse yourself.)

Have a GREAT day!

Happy New Year and I scrapped!!

2008-01-08T16:16:00.000+11:00

HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

We had family and friends over for lunch on New Year's Day. That's usually what I do and I'll tell you why (I have more than enough reasons). Firstly, everyone else does their Christmas Eve, Christmas and Boxing Day gatherings with their family and we have quiet ones. Then everyone winds down from all the silly season rush and have quiet New Year Days, we will in turn have them over for a nice lunch. Secondly, being New Year's Day, I don't have to be bound by any food tradition. I can put anything on the menu. Lastly, I don't have to frantically make sure I have everything I need the day before unlike Christmas Day where if you forget something, it happens to me a lot, you are stuffed cos no shops are open!! So I'm usually doing New Year's Day. I guess that's MY tradition?

So... what was on the menu? Get ready for this.

Mains
Rendang
Nasi Kunyit (a savoury saffron rice)
Grilled leg of lamb
Sang Choy Bao
Fried Chicken Spare Ribs
Prawns with seafood dip (cold dish)

Salads
Potato, prawn and bacon salad
Mango salad
Coleslaw

Desserts
Chocolate Raspberry ice cream cake
Creme Caramel

Apart from the Creme Caramel that was made by my SIL (and really yummmmm), and the prawns that were bought, we made everything else. But don't get too excited, I didn't say from scratch. It was soooo satisfying, in that I had the menu planned down to a T, and I felt like Nigella Lawson using all these smart shortcuts to great food! Rendang was needless to say, a Prima Taste recipe that I cooked the day before. Leg of lamb was marinated by the butcher so all we did was grill it to perfection, chicken spare ribs were marinated with a packet seasoning and fried, prawns were bought, seafood dip was just a clever mix of a few pantry/fridge ingredients, potato salad dressing was a clever idea from Ruey - using Praise's Dijonnaise (although my potato salad had a few more tasty ingredients like bacon bits, spring onions, hardboiled eggs and prawns), coleslaw dressing was bought, so was the coleslaw mix. The only things I made from scratch were Nasi Kunyit, Mango Salad, Sang Choy Bao. Here, indulge in some salivating pics...

Sang Choy Bao

The rest of the spread.... same spread just from 2 different angles. It still looked like we have enough food for 2 army troops.

And of course, I didn't get around to taking photos of desserts. But just believe in me that they are yummy. ;)

The day was soooo hot though! We had a 40C day (104F)! Luckily the cool change came through late in the afternoon. We had friends that stayed and chat and we ended up eating the leftovers! LOL... It was an awesome day.

A few days later, we went to Mikaela's 2nd birthday celebration. I haven't scrapped for sooooo long, I had to use this pathetic excuse to claim that I did something scrapbookey ... gift wrapping and a card.

Then I joined a cybercrop organised by Scrap Therapy. It is Scrap Therapy's 1st birthday celebrations, so they will be having cybercrops every weekend for the month of January. It's a good opportunity for everyone to get back into their scrapping mode, isn't it?? I did a bag tag, a challenge layout and a blind scrapping layout. It was sooo fun! I have never blind-scrapped before but I had heaps of fun. So impromptu. I had my layout done in an hour.... that's because you are not required to think! If only I had a brain, I'll be dangerous! LOL...

Bag tag for Ellen's school bag - ST DT member, Julie's free class. It uses Heidi Swapp's clamshell packaging for her embellishments. How clever! Thanks, Julie! I had wanted to make a bag tag for Ellen's school bag but I have NO CLUE whatsoever where to begin. So this class came at the perfect timing.

A Challenge Layout - To use 3 or more of the following items ... Pink, Alphabet, Ribbon, Template, Your own handwriting (PARTY). I kinda liked what I did, the photos have been in my folder for ages, I just couldn't get them to work with the papers I've chosen. Never thought pink will work! :D

Blind Scrapping Layout - I didn't know what blind scrapping was until then. You are required to have a list of supplies ready. Then you are given the first piece of instructions, eg to cut a piece of the pp you have into X by Y size to stick onto one of the cs you have selected. You cannot add anymore products onto the list... just 'blindly' follow instructions. You'll be amazed at the decisions you make as to where to stick that sheet of pp, that embellishment ... etc etc But boy it was fun... not knowing what comes next! :D

I have another kiddy birthday party to go to on Friday & Saturday. Not to forget, my own birthday is on the 16th! I'm turning 38! Will see how many people actually READ this post and survive up to this point cos I know most people speed-read ..... and then see if anyone remembers .... tee hee.

Have a good week!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

2007-12-25T18:24:00.000+11:00

HO HO HO!!!!!
(stuff political correctness!)
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

It's Christmas Day!!! What have you been up to?! What did you do today?

Yes.... I have been missing in action. The last time I blogged, it was the day before we left for our Singapore holidays. Why didn't I say anything? Well, Peter kind of said we can't announce it to the whole wide world (i.e. our postman and the net in general) cos then our house might get broken into. Kinda far fetched, but kinda made sense too. hehehe.....
We went there for my brother's wedding and stayed for 2 weeks. Ellen and Phaedon had a ball doing their flowergirl and pageboy business. It was a traditional Chinese ceremony with groom picking up the bride from her house, and coming back to groom's parent's house for the tea ceremony, and then back the bride's house for their tea ceremony, ... and then the dinner reception at night. Tea ceremony basically involves the couple serving tea to the elders (parents, aunties, uncles... elder brothers/sisters... etc) and the younger ones will serve tea to the couple. So.... Peter and I got 'served' by the couple ... and our kids got to 'serve' them tea! They kinda did it for the little red packet they will get at the end of it. hahaha...

So what DID my kids do for flowergirl and pageboy? Well, all was required of them, was to look pretty and cute in their outfits ... like so...

.... and threw flower petals whilst the couple marched in, like so....

As you can see, Ellen had no problem fulfilling her duties, but my son needed the coaching and hoaxing! He forgot the petals while he marched, and forgot to march while he did the petals! Typical male... can't multi-task! LOL...

Overall, the kids had a ball while in Singapore. I was very glad that my parents got to enjoy them a little bit more this time as they are a bit older. I took this really gorgeous photo of my Dad and Ellen ...

and a very nice LONG-overdued family photo ...

When our holiday was over, we came home in early December to a mad rush for Christmas. Christmas shopping, HEAPS of scrapbooking deadlines, kinder duties, kinder Christmas parties, teacher's Chrissie presents, gift wrapping, Christmas tree... etc etc etc. Hence... no time to blog. Given that I've taken the entire post to explain why I haven't blogged, and posted some nice piccies, am I forgiven yet? **grin**

How about some silly piccies of my children trying on Peter's Harley Davidson bike gear?

Phaedon woke up this morning and went STRAIGHT to the Christmas tree to find all the presents Santa had left for them. He was soooo excited that he woke up the whole household so they can open up the presents. So we spent the next 3-4 hours opening presents, and setting them up. BOY did the kids get spoilt this year! Ellen got a handheld Leapster and lots of cartridges to go with it, a telescope, a toy xylophone, 2 Island Princess Barbie dolls and her carriage, an MB game - Operation, and an Electronic Interactive World Map game. The Phaedster got an Ultimate Transformer Bumblebee, a Robo dinosaur (remote controlled dinosaur with sensors and stuff), a moving and roaring Spinosaurus, MORE Disney Pixar toy cars, a Whack-A-Mole game, a Fisher-Price handheld game, and a Batman toy. Peter spent HEAPS of time assembling the Transformer toy AND the Robo dinosaur. Living room was chaos .... still chaos. I'll post more piccies another day :)

Hope you've had a wonderful day today.

I'm not a cardmaker.

2007-11-19T16:14:00.000+11:00

You know how I complained last post that I took too long to make those cards? Suzanne said, "Well, you can't be too good at it, cos then you'll end up liking it." Suzanne is really a very funny person.

So... I did a "tell & show" to my husband that I made 12 Christmas cards at the crop. I told first ... he asked if I could make a dozen for him too so he can give them out to his colleagues. Then I showed him the cards. Then a dozen became two. Nothing like a bit of pressure before we leave for our holidays!

Problem is I don't have a set of nice Christmas stamps. I hunted down a set of Hero Arts one from eBay... and got the seller to send it Express to me.

Then I wanted this set, which Suzanne had at the crop and I used it and fell in love with it. She got them from Brimbank Lincraft (the store near me) months back. They are worth $4.00.

So naturally, I went to that store to look for it... and they didn't have it. I thought I wasn't careful enough and walked around the shelves like 6 times. I even took my son out of the store to the toilets because he had to go, and then came back in and loitered around the same shelves another 6 times. There was no miracle.

Then I got home and started ringing all the Lincraft stores I could possibly get to. None of them had it. I GOOGLED every possible way the stamp could be called, I eBay-searched every possible way the stamp could be listed. I rang interstate brick and mortar shops to find them. I rang the distributor. This was becoming Mission Impossible and it went on for 2-3 dedicated days. Then, Suzanne rang me one night and said she found the stamp for me... at friggin Brimbank Lincraft. I was gobsmacked. And she even drove to my house to drop the $4 stamp off for me. How gorgeous is she??????

So I spent a Saturday doing these...

So Ruey kept calling me a cardmaker now and I kept denying it. Don't get me wrong, I don't resent the "title". I just don't think I'm qualified. To me, cardmakers make cards for leisure and pleasure. They make cards for "standy-by" just in case they need them for an occasion. They make cards to use up their scrap stash. I have utmost respect for people who do that. I'm none of those. I make a birthday card when I have to go to a birthday party, or attend something birthday party-ish. I made my 1st dozen of Christmas cards because I started making them last year so I can't slip back into store-bought Christmas cards. The next 2 dozens are "ordered" by the man of the house who pays for most of my scrap stash .... so I actually kinda find it hard to say no. LOL...

So there you have it. I'm not a true cardmaker, just a short order adhoc cardmaker. bwahahahaha....

CFK. Silly Molly. Cards.

2007-11-12T08:37:00.000+11:00

CROP FOR KIDS update - Our next online class, Dreams and Memories is by Danielle Quarmby. She is going to teach us a mini album which uses fabric, tabs, painting and photo silhouettes. Just by looking at the colours of the album, I'm intrigued. So come and join us online for the instructions or just have instructions emailed to you.

The class kit is also available for sale at KitiQ.

Title : Dreams and Memories ... by Danielle Quarmby
Date: Friday, 16 November 2007
Time: 7.30pm - 9.30pm
Cost: AUD10.00 per person
Crop For Kids will also be putting scrapbooking embellishments on our blog for sale. These embellishments are EXCLUSIVE to Crop For Kids. And may I just say... they are soooooo cute, soooo versatile and the best thing is, they won't burn a hole in your pocket. So just watch out for them soon!

I had a chat with my Herbalife consultant this morning. I told her I am wondering my weight loss is not "up to speed". We went through the "programme" I am supposed to be on, i.e Ultimate ... then we discovered why. Miss Clever Molly decided that she didn't like the Aloe Vera beverage, and thought she could do without, base on the consultant's initial instructions : Have one whenever you like.

Molly didn't like = Molly didn't have .... ANY.

But the Aloe is a MAJOR component in the programme, hence Molly not losing as much weight as she wanted. Now Molly is put on double dose of that beverage. Sigh.... I should have clicked. The difference between Advanced and Ultimate programme, are really, the Aloe Vera beverage and another supplement, and the price hike is quite substantial. Here I am wondering where the value of my programme is ..... DUH !!!!! So there you go... I can be dumb too.

This is in For Keeps #60, theme: Before you came.... . It really suited a layout I've always had in mind but never had a chance to do, one about my son's birth.

The latest publication in Scrapbook Creations No. 48. It appeared in the Top Ten Transparency article compiled by Dawn Stan. I am a big fan of transparencies and overlay, so this was a fantastic opportunity for me. You like my Othello-inspired layout? :) :)

I went to a crop at Jorja's yesterday. For 10 hours, I did 12 cards. I'm not very impressed with my speed! Then again, I'm not a card veteran, so that is excusable. LOL... These are cards that I will actually send out to family and close friends. So perhaps THAT's another excuse to put in more time and effort?? bwahahaha....

Ok.... that's all for today.

Just call me Molly ...

2007-11-05T19:23:00.000+11:00

Last Saturday marks my 2 weeks of Herbalife programme. I weighed in at 59.5kg .... OFFICIALLY UNDER 60KG!!!!!! WHOOOO HOOOOOT!!!! I lost less in my 2nd week as compared to my 1st ... but apparently, I could have had a lot more excess fat to lose, that's why it went quickly in the 1st week. ROFLMAO!! Who knows.... 59.5kg is 59.5kg. That is 2.5kg in 2 weeks! Can't complain! :) :) :)

So, remember my last haircut? How my hairdresser was reluctantly to cut it too short in case I was too impulsive and regretted? I went for my haircut again today (4 months from the last haircut), with full intention and determined to walk out of the salon looking like a Molly Price (currently in Bionic Woman, previously plays Faith in 3rd Watch).

He first cut some wishy washy looking haircut ... still too long for my liking. Even though we had a consultation, the outcome wasn't quite what I expected. So I showed him the Molly photo I had printed. He cut it a 2nd time. This time, ruthlessly. LOL... Probably because he was pissed off at me for the 1st time in our 8 years of relationship, for making him cut again. But I reckon I pay good money (DON'T ASK!!), and I was talked out of it the last time, I'm not doing it again! Just give me my damn Molly Price haircut!!!

There you go....

JUST CALL ME MOLLY!!!!! rofpmsl.....

I absolutely LOVE IT!!!!!! I should have persisted with my decision the last time. But anyway, this is it. I guess none of you have ever seen me with hair this short. I'll let you in on a little secret..... I used to have hair shorter than this, much shorter. hehehehe... So can you imagine the pains of growing it out to the length I had (check out my blog profile photo)?!?!?! This is it now. I doubt I'll be growing them long again. I'm very very happy and satisfied ... but never say never, right? :)

Week 1. Show & Tell.

2007-10-27T11:02:00.000+10:00

OK... I started the Herbalife program last Saturday. So today is D-DAY, my Week 1 result.

Weight - 60.2kg (from 62kg)
Bust - 36" (from 38")
Waist - 32" (from 34.5")
Hips - 38.5" (from 40")
Upper arm - 11" (from 12")
Thigh - 20.5" (from 22")
Lower Calf - 14.5" (from 15")
Total - 1.8kg weight loss and 9" all around.

Isn't that just awesome?? I am so amazed at this result. I thought I was going to use the money-back guarantee! LOL...

And you know what the best thing was? I did not feel hungry. On Day 1 and 2, I did feel a bit of hunger around meal times, but by Day 3, I didn't even feel like having my 2nd shake of the day. Yesterday, I caught up with Ruey and Felicity at McDonald's. Kids had a play and we sat and chat. I got there at 10.20am... got 2 hash browns for the kids, and stayed till lunch time. Kids wanted their Happy Meals so they did. I did not even feel like pinching their french fries! For the 2 hours I was there, I did not feel any urge to eat, not even my favourite fries.

So a big pat on my back! :) :) :) WHOOOO HOO!!!!

I did a Christmas show and tell for Jane, Crafty Matters. I did a layout and a card.

Layout - I used the Chrissy Mini Album kit papers, the Chrissy Squiggle card, and a Christmas tree ceramic.

Card - I used a bisque ceramic.... coloured it in with Stampin' Up wonder crayons, stamped it and then used Zig Dual brush pen to colour in the red, and finally used some bling.

We have a 4-year-old birthday party to go to. So I did a birthday card, it's for Zack, Peter's cousin's son, but I call him my nephew anyway. :)

My next few projects - two CJs from The Scrapbook Establishment CJ group, and my Pay-It-Forward RAKS... yes, I'm waaaaaay late, I'm sorry girls but it's still coming, and Christmas cards.

That's all for today. Going to measure myself again, still can't quite believe the measurements. LOL...

My Last Sin

2007-10-20T10:23:00.000+10:00

I signed up for Herbalife on Tuesday. So excited about it. Since I've had kids, the weight has just slowly crept onto my body. I'm not excessively overweight, but I'd like to keep it under control while it is still manageable. I'm not ambitious or unrealistic, I don't want to have just skin on bones. I still want my curves.... *ahem* just at the right place, thanks! And most importantly, I hated the feeling of constantly having to buy new clothes next size up. Outgrowing clothes can only be a good thing if you are a baby. I've got soooo many clothes in my wardrobe that are nice, and I used to spend good money on them too. But they are just sitting in there doing nothing for me. And here I am, always wearing baggy clothes to cover my muffin tops (the overhang over your jeans) and 'fidubulous' (a fancy name for the flabby bits under your arms). No plans on getting into a Size 8... but Size 10 would be good.... Aussie size that is.

So! Last night, I decided we should go for a drive. Instead of going to a crop at Carolyn's, I convinced Peter to drive us to Carolyn's to drop off her AMM Totes, and then we went and visit friends of ours who live around the corner from Carolyn's. When we left at 9.30pm, we decided to go to Krispy Kreme to commit my last sin. I must admit, I don't have many bad eating habits. I don't snack between meals, I don't drink alcohol, I don't smoke, I don't even have sugar with my tea. I have soy milk for breakfast, and we have stopped doing weekly fish n chips! So I gather that I must be eating lots to have 10kg to lose. And I haven't had a donut in at least 1/2 a year. So I believe this can be my last indulgence before my Herbalife programme starts tomorrow.

We drove. Templestowe (north-east?) to Narre Warren (FAR south-east) .... probably a 45 min drive. There were KKs closer to Templestowe but they weren't bakeries. We HAD to go to the one that bakes.... 24 hours to get the fresh ones. It was also quite an adventure for the kids too. This store has the whole donut making process in plain sight, like a fish tank. They were absolutely fascinated. I was waiting in the car, and I could see Ellen darting from Peter to the viewing gallery, to and fro, to and fro, to and fro. LOL... We went home, had our KKs... and I was ready to start my new day with KK, sorry I mean Herbalife.

An oxymoron kind of photo..... Good and Evil, God and Satan, Dr Phil and Jerry Springer...

OK. Let's start recording my weight loss.
20 Oct 2007 - 62kg, 34.5" waist

My favourite tunes right now...

2007-10-17T22:48:00.000+10:00

Just had to share these 2 video clips. First one is of Ricki-Lee, cos I think she's so hot now.

And then if you are Melbournian.... you might have seen the Nova 100.3FM commercial with the Nova Boy dancing to this tune...

Phaedon is absolutley hooked on this tune. He would do the Nova Boy too when this commercial plays. LOL...

slang. bloglines. red.

2007-10-16T15:34:00.000+10:00

Last week, I received an email from Jess. It had an attachment of the Australian Citizenship Test. It is a new test where permanent residents / immigrants have to take before they approve your citizenship to Australia. Of course I had to look right? Thinking it was the real deal, I nearly crapped my pants cos there is no way I will pass that test. When they finally told me that it was just a spoof, I had a good laugh... and so I embarked on my "research" on this topic - Aussie slang. Here's some I learned (I already know quite a few myself, proud to say...LOL)

Died in my arse = pretty much like I crapped my pants or I shit myself
Drained a few tinnies = drank a few cans of beer
Flashing a brown eye = basically.... I think this means mooning
Taking a slash = peeing in the bush
Getting paraletic = getting drunk (very drunk)
Flat out like a lizard drinking = busy (I never knew lizards drank!)
Off like a bride's nightie OR Off like a bucket of prawns in the sun = left quickly
Dry as a nun's nasty OR Dry as a dead dingo's donger = Thirsty
(btw... nun's nasty is a nun's 'down there' .... and dingo is an Australia wild dog, donger is slang for a man's 'thing down there')

Aren't they just the funniest things to say? You wonder why they would go through so much trouble? Talk about verbal diarrhoea! LOL...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yesterday, I was talking to Ruey about keeping up with blogs. I have Bloglines... and I have a list of 35 feeds. To me, that is already quite a big list. Everytime I want to add a new one on, I feel that I had to review my list, to see who I can delete (i.e. housekeeping) because I simply can't keep up! Everyday I look at my Bloglines, and when there is a number showing up in brackets, I feel that I have to go read them. It's like a to-do task. It's like having unread emails. It's highlighted, it's in bold, it's PRESSURE! I don't know how some people can have an endless list of blogs on their bloglines. They must manage their time very well! Or is it a bad case of hoarding (one day she might blog about something really interesting and funny)? LOL.... OK, in saying that, don't delete mine off your Bloglines, OK? :) :) :)

Oh... and Crop For Kids too. :) :) :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was in the study most of Monday. I had to take a break and go sit with my kids for a bit. So I sat next to my son, who was lying on the couch watching TV. I started cuddling him, and snuggling him, and kissing him.... and obviously I'm now interrupting his TV time. He was quite annoyed and said out loud "Stop doing that! I can't see!! Go do some computer work!"

Consider myself told.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peter got me a new mobile phone - Nokia 6300 .... and it's RED!!!

Bought it on Monday morning via eBay, seller posted it out in the afternoon, courier attempted to deliver it on Tuesday morning .... and I wasn't at home to receive it. DANG!!!! Will go pick it up next day.

Anyway, that's all I have to share at the moment. Not a lot of layouts because I'm working on my last brief for FK. It has been a wonderful experience. All the best to the next team!

Good evening.

He arrived but not his....

2007-10-08T21:34:00.000+10:00

Where is everyone?!?!! Is anyone still reading my blog? Has everyone left because I've been whinging about my husband???? LOL...

Well... he came home, safe and sound on Friday .... but his luggage didn't. They went for a round the world trip to London. So he came home without ALL OUR PRESSIES!!!! How disappointing!!!!!!! Kids really missed him so much, so did I. I can hear some of you go.... awwwwwwwww Even though it was 9am in the morning, my savvy daughter has already suggested we should go out for lunch. So we went home for him to have a shower, I rushed out a layout for FK.... and off we went. Out to lunch.

For the rest of the day.... he pretty much slept all afternoon, so did the kids! So I had my quiet time before I went out for my Crop For Kids meeting. As much as I missed him, I also missed my me time. I needed to have a 60km radius away from the kids. So we had our meeting and a mini crop afterwards. I helped make a few cards for the Pink Card Drive. Even though I didn't register, I made 4 cards... for Carolyn who has registered. And people who know me probably know that cards are not my strongest suit. Ironically, I have a few cards coming up in For Keeps Issue #60.

My online class for the Cake Slice gift box went well. It's my first teaching experience, and I think I did all right. :) Hopefully someone will tell me if I'm doing anything wrong.

Of course, the luggage arrived at our doorstep on Sunday. So kids got all their shoes and toys, I got my stamp and what I ordered, and the very-hard-to-find Ilford Smooth Pearl photo papers 4x6 in 100s ... everyone was happy.

Ellen goes back to kinder tomorrow for the last term, and this marks my countdown of our trip to Singapore!

TWO last things! Design-A-Chippie competition deadline gets extended, and a new online class at Crop for Kids by Jill Geraghty-Groves - GRUNGE! Read all about it here.

That's all and ta-ta for now.

He'll be coming home tomorrow when he comes.... yeehah!

2007-10-04T16:24:00.000+10:00

You know the things you learn to do when your husband is not at home?

Well, I learned how to change a down light the other day. One of the down lights in my kitchen blew some time middle of last week. It was the light that covers the fridge and kitchen bench corner. It didn't matter which light really .. but when you have a blown light bulb, it makes you feel like you are missing something, so uncomfortable, so incomplete. I thought I could test myself to see if I could last the 1.5 weeks without changing it. By day 4 I gave up. One of those phone calls to him was asking him how on earth do I change a friggin down light.... cos it's not quite the same as changing a normal light bulb. So I did it. I changed a down light. And I had this overwhelming sense of satisfaction and mighty proud of myself.

I bought a few things online in the US and made sure they sent the package to him on time before he leaves. It arrived on time and safely, thank goodness. I also sent him to a stamp shop to buy some Stampington stamps I wanted. Poor man walked into the shop with the product codes and names I gave him, only to find that the shop arranges by designs, eg butterflies, flowers, .... etc. He had to ring me at 2am our time, to ask me to describe the stamps for him. hehehe....

I've also done a lot of damage doing retail therapy. How else is a girl to channel her loneliness and stress?? I finally got hold of the I *Heart* Candy Town collection from SisTV when they launched their boutique on 1st October, and even got 10% discount. I missed out on this kit the last time they had it in August.... and I was sooooo heartbroken. A few days after I missed out, I emailed them to sob about it, emailed Adrienne Looman to sob about it.... then the customer service guy from SiSTV replied with a top secret! He told me that "rumours" have been going around that something "big" is happening in October and they are revamping, and they "might" have that available again. So he told me to have my eyes peeled! How much more gorgeous can a customer service guy be??!!!

So anyways, 1 more sleep, my hubby dearest is coming home tomorrow morning. Sigh.... 2 weeks. My SIL rang last night.... asking how I've been coping. I said she should be asking to speak to my children, if they were still here ... if I had done a Desperate-Housewife-Lynnette and driven them somewhere and left them standing by the street! I have to say I managed pretty well. We had a few play dates and that kept us busy, and a few (too many) lazy pyjamas days where we stayed at home. Kids had some good play time outside when the weather was good. I had to work on my Crop For Kids online class material and a couple of FK DT layouts. So overall, we did well. My son has already banished me. He got upset with me a few times because I told him off and stopped him from doing something naughty. He said I can't cuddle him cos Daddy will do it when he comes back on Friday; he said I am not allowed to take him to the playcentre anymore and Daddy will take him, cos I refused to buy him a toy with lollies. Where do they send ungrateful kids?

Anyways, my online class is happening to night, at 7.30pm (2.5hours to go). I might as well post the pics here now. I am making the Cake Slice Gift Box. $10.00 for the template and instructions (for blue box), fully donated to Royal Children's Hospital's Good Friday Appeal.

Variation....

Interested to have the template? Email me to let me know.

Enjoy the rest of the week. I know I will... cos Peter is coming home tomorrow!!

Officially 1 week

2007-09-28T00:27:00.000+10:00

It's officially 1 week hubby has been out of town.
I'm half way there, one more week, he'll be home.
I'm still alive.
Just kickin'.
Sick of Phaedon asking, "Why is Daddy late?" (To him, Daddy not at home = Daddy is late {from work})
"I wanna go pick up Daddy."
"Mummy!!!! Phaedon is not sharing!" (when she just wants to have the toy he just picked up)
"Mummy!!!! YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!" (when I insisted that Phaedon picks up his toys, and he repeatedly refused.)
"Mummay, I'm fiiiniiished!!!" (toilet duty)
"Mummy, can I watch Nick Junior please?"
"Mummy, can I watch a video?"
***loud scream from Phaedon*** he comes running to the study in tears.... Ellen comes running behind him, and the first to open her mouth "He, he, Phaedon won't let me play with his toy!!"
"But Mummy, it's not time for bed yet! We're still playing. 5 more minutes, OK?"

And you know what the worst thing about this job is? You can't quit!

Movie and more layouts

2007-09-24T22:49:00.001+10:00

OK... some of you might have heard that I'm single mum for 2 weeks. Hubby left me.... went to US for work. Everyone I told, had their eyes lit up immediately. They wondered if I have a scrapbook shopping list for my husband! LOL... that was the last thing on my mind.... god honest truth! All I kept thinking is... how am I going to survive 2 weeks of school holidays, without any help??? Kids 24/7, no break, and no one to take over after 6 or 7pm???? Yes, I'm normally very well taken care of by my wonderful husband. That's why, I couldn't fathom 2 weeks of my life without him coming home to take over the kids from me!

He left on Friday morning. We stayed home on Friday and Saturday all day. On Sunday, I decided we need to get out of the house. We went shopping at a very busy shopping centre. I needed to get my hair conditioner from a salon. Then we had lunch. Then we shopped at Target. I put a massive dinosaur on layby and told Phaedon that I will send that to Santa, so Santa can give that to him for Christmas. Then I bought the kids a bottle of bubbles each, that made them very happy.

Today, I was very brave. I took them to the movies. **insert shock horror emoticon here** I can just about hear some of you say, "BOTH your kids?! You did not!!!!" Yep, I sure did. We bought tickets to see Surf's Up. We made rules though:
1. We need to go to the toilet before the movie.
2. We will sit still on the seat during the movie.
3. We are allowed to run and dance only during credits.
And I must say, they did pretty well. Ellen wasn't going to go to the toilet when I was putting Phaedon on the toilet. But I told her Auntie Ruey's threat: that if she needs to go to the toilet during the movie, the butcher will be taking her, not Mommy. Tell me how quickly she changed her mind. ROFLMAO... They got a bit antsy towards the end... but as soon as the surfing and the boppy music was on, they were happy. And they did their dance and running around to the end theme which I promised they could do. The movie was GREAT!!! Really funny and cute. I highly recommend it.

OK.. more layouts to share. Got my For Keeps #59 today. These were the layouts in it. Ellen was just delighted to see herself turn into a caterpillar on magazine! LOL...

That's all for today. Tomorrow is baking day with my kids (betcha never seen me so domesticated) and Wednesday, is lunch date with Ruey, Vita, Felicity, and Jane. Can't wait!

A Plug and Layouts to share

2007-09-22T20:31:00.000+10:00

This is a plug for my online class at Crop For Kids.

Cake Slice Gift Box. I made these about 2 months ago. I created a template and quite a few people liked it. So I pitched the idea to the CFK committee and here I am, doing my first ever online class. My first ever class for that matter. Here are the sneak peeks.

Date: Thursday, 4th October 2007
Time: 7.30pm - 9.30pm
Cost: $10.00 per person (own materials)

If you want to register, just email Crop For Kids.

Ok.. ... plenty of layouts to share, I hope I won't crash their servers. These are all the 9 layouts I did at the retreat. This is what happens when I free myself from any challenges... just scrap! :) :)

Phaedosaurus - I finished the layout at the retreat but desperately wanted a dino embellishment. So I came home and shopped at KitiQ for a BamPop Popzilla stamp. ;) Not quite a dinosaur but to me.... godzilla, dinosaur.... same same. LOL...

I wish I hadn't - A very personal layout with very sensitive journaling.

Are you proud of me? - A few new things I used here: Making Memories Clear overlays (over the photo), Making Memories clear letters (Are you), Making Memories green ribbon (love it!), Bampop clear stamp coloured in with Stampin' Up Wonder Crayons.

Kerplunk! - just a layout about our new family game.

Birthday Boy - my nephew in Singapore has turned 1!!!! I can't wait to see him in November.

Confused little superhero - Love those squiggly chipboard arrows by Buzz n Bloom! Been wanting to use these Love, Elsie Roxie papers for so long with this photo. You probably can't read the journaling... but try figuring out why the title.

Squish - patterned papers are American Crafts. I've not used AC papers for sooooo long. I bought these at the retreat and had to make myself use them or they will just add to my AC stash.
Cars fanatic - my son's collection of cars. He happily let me stage a photo shoot of his precious and growing collection. The chipboard is Magistical Memories which I've covered with pp and doodled a track on it. See those little car ceramic embellishments at the bottom? Cute huh? Jane makes them and sells them at Crafty Matters.

Prima Donna - I really like the gigantic swirls on this. They are Technique Tuesday tiles which I bought ages ago. I covered them with patterned paper, and surrounded them with button brads by Imaginisce. I somehow feel it's missing something, perhaps journaling? I really don't know what to journal on this.... my mind draws a complete blank. Maybe you can tell me?

OK.... sorry for bombarding. My creative juices were just flowing. bwahahahaha....

Have a great weekend.

The Winners!!!!

2007-09-18T16:52:00.001+10:00

I am soooo sorry for the long delay. I was sooo busy last week trying to get ready for the retreat that I was going to that I didn't even have time to come in here to post about where I was going. Truly truly sorry. Here are the winners of my Pay-It-Forward RAK.

Yu'er
brainybairn
Ruey

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! (or is it commiserations to win a handmade gift from me?!?! LOL) Will all of you please email me your mailing address so I can make those RAKs and send them out to you. Now you need to PAY IT FORWARD on your blog! :) :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I went to a retreat with some great friends over the weekend at Portsea. It wasn't a commercial scrapbooking retreat as such, just one that friends all got together, scrapped, chatted, ate ..... didn't have a full shop setup but Trish and Anne-Marie brought along their latest arrivals from Scrapanalia with them. I still managed to spend about $30+ .... not bad for a weekend huh? :) Most of us brought our own food, eg casseroles, curries, rice... etc. Jorja even cooked bacon and egg breakfast for us on Saturday morning, and made satay chicken on Saturday night for dinner. She is just the bestest!! I call her Mom .... probably my first time being taken care of !! :)

I scrapped.... boy did I scrap! LOL.... I aimed to do 10 layouts, but only managed 9, and altered 2 shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. I am extremely satisfied with what I created though. I will finish up my journaling and take some photos when I can. I think the reason why I was that productive, was because I was scrapping without inhibitions. Although I have a few DT layouts to do, I refused to do them over the weekend cos I tend to ponder more over those layouts. I just wanted to create freely without any rules. I really needed that. I needed the weekend to be about me and not answering to anyone, .... no offence FK, Addicted to Craft and Blueye Dezines. :) :)

Ask me if I missed my kids..... sorry LUVS! I missed the bit that Phaedon comes to bed to snuggle up with me in the morning, but I got over that pretty quickly. LOL ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am also busy setting up Crop For Kids' first online class. It'll be held tomorrow, Thursday 20th September 2007. Our first tutor on the list is Lou Spiden! She is truly a very funny and great person to be with and learn something from. If you haven't registered, go to Crop For Kids blog now and be quick!!!

There is also a very cool competition going on CFK .... Design-A-Chippie Competition! You get to design your own chipboard embellishments and stand to win a very cool $50 prize pack from Scrapware AND a $50 gift certificate from The Scrapbook Establishment. The winning design will be manufactured by Scrapware and sold by Crop For Kids exclusively!!!! All proceeds will go to Crop For Kids, and official fundraising event for Royal Children's Hospital's Good Friday Appeal.

So there! You get to design, you stand to win, ..... VERY ATTRACTIVE PRIZES, winning design gets manufactured, sale proceeds go to charity ..... is this a win-win-win situation or what?! So start sketching and doodling my friends!

Ok... it's 2.40am.... time for bed ..... bit of a zombie now....

Have a great week ahead!

Daughter (again). CFK. Pay It Forward.

2007-09-06T09:02:00.001+10:00

People do not believe all the stories I've told about my daughter when they see her. They say she is the sweetest thing, so polite, so adorable, so gorgeous ..... I never knew 5 year olds are that clever at concealing their true self either. Either her true self is the tantrum-throwing, I'll-do-all-I-can-to-drive-mum-crazy one and she puts on another personality to perfect strangers, or she is the truly angelic one where she shows true colours to strangers, and puts on a difficult personality with us. I'll let you be the judge cos I'm tired of second guessing her. This is what happened by 9am this morning.

She was trying to put on this new short sleeve top I bought for her to wear in summer. But spring had just begun and we are still having cold days. So I told her she can wear a long sleeve top underneath, and wear the short sleeve top over it.

E: But I want to wear this (short sleeve top) inside
Me: So you want to wear something over it? But then you won't be able to see your new top?
E: But I want to!!!
Me: Fine.
(took out a track suit for her... jacket and pants)
E (screamed): NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! (started wailing) I don't want to!!!!

I rest my case.

Have been doing a lot of shopping this week (scrapbook shopping that is). Blue Bazaar had their annual sale on, I bought some stuff on Saturday, bought some more together with Ruey a few days later, and bought some more today with my partner in crime again. Heehee... haven't done so much shopping in a while. Trust me, I didn't strike lottery. I'm just depressed.

Peter has to go to the US for work in late September, for 2 friggin weeks!!!!!!! I have a retreat this weekend I'm going to, somehow I wish it was after he comes back. God forbid, I REALLY need a retreat after those 2 weeks. Funny how when I told Ruey and Jess about Peter having to go away, their first reaction was, "Oh, crap...." and "Oh, no....." hahahaa... these girls really do know what I go through with my kids on a daily basis. So this is something they know I don't look forward to. And honestly, if my daughter's behaviour is going to be like that for those 2 weeks, you can all put me on suicide watch.

We had our 2nd Crop For Kids committee meeting last night!!! It was such a great meeting. There is a contest coming up which we are very very excited about. We are just finalising the details now and fingers crossed, it will be up and running the next week.

For those who haven't registered for Lou Spiden's online class, these are the details:
Date: Thursday, 20 September 2007
Time: 7.30pm - 9.30pm
Cost: $10.00
Proceeds will go to Crop For Kids, raising funds for Royal Children's Hospital Good Friday Appeal. As to how the online class works, you don't have to be physically present during the time. The class will be held via a blog, ie. classroom. The instructions will be left on the blog until Sunday. So even if you are not physically able to "be there" during 7.30pm - 9.30pm, you can still gain access to the 'classroom' for a few more days. I hope that helps clear up any doubts. :)

And if you missed my last entry, I am doing the Pay It Forward RAK on my blog. I was picked as a winner on Kim's blog, so now I'm paying forward. Leave a comment on my blog by today. If you are picked as one of the 3 winners, you'll get a handmade gift from me (don't laugh!). Yes... me... making a handmade gift. Can't promise it's going to be awesome, but I promise it won't be awful. bwahahahaha.....

OK..... that's all for now. Will update again soon with the contest at CFK when we have details, or when I scrap a layout. Which do you think will happen first? LOL...

EDITED TO ADD THESE HILARIOUS LINKS!!! Toooooo funneeeeeee ....
Say what???
Say what??? ... spoof

The past week...

2007-09-02T22:40:00.000+10:00

So I went to a crop at Felicity's last Saturday with a few Essential Baby girls. It's really great to meet new people all the time. I did 2 DT layouts for For Keeps. Yes, I made a 2nd term on the Design Team for For Keeps Creative Scrapbooking. And I'm joined by many other talented girls, including a couple of friends, Kim Arnold and Vita Thai.

Most of last week, has been occupied by Crop For Kids. We have started our Online Class registration, with the first class taught by Lou Spiden. We have also a list of other scrapbookers who have already jumped on board to help us. We have layouts, mini album, canvas, Photoshop tips and tricks, hybrid layouts, etc etc etc. Different classes will be held fornightly, so don't miss out on any of these treasures! We will also be having some contests later on too. Get onto Crop For Kids blog and have us added to your bloglines, so you'll get the most updated news!

Did a few more DT layouts for Addicted to Craft, but I can't really share other than this one.

The Little Pirate - A layout to be added to Addicted to Craft's gallery.

This other layout I did the week before, very uninspired that's why I couldn't be bothered showing. Same Same but Different - I was comparing how different these 2 kids are. (Granted, they are equally good at driving me nuts!) But I know this layout is soooo not me... I just don't do justice to Basic Grey papers. It's a bloody disgrace, I know.

I wish I could show you the other DT layouts but I can't. You'll have to wait till the magazine comes out in 4 months' time.

OK... RAK TIME!!!

This is a Pay It Forward RAK. I won my RAK from Kim, so now I will be making 3 handmade gifts and there will be 3 lucky winners picked from all the names who have left a comment on my blog. If you are one of the 3 lucky winners, you will have to Pay It Forward by doing the same on your blog, i.e. make 3 handmade gifts and pick 3 winners. Kapish?

I am not fantastic at handmade gifts (can't sew to save myself), so I will alter papier mache boxes from Spotlight for the 3 winners. So leave your comment from now onwards to Thursday, 6 September. International comments are welcome too :) :) So delurk yourself and join in the fun!

Ta Ta for now!

Some layouts to share

2007-08-24T21:56:00.001+10:00

Thought I'll share a few layouts with you ...... haven't done that for a while. :) :)

Because you love me - I don't think I've shared this layout yet. This is published in For Keeps #57. Theme is to use 5 different theme colours on the layout. So I took the opportunity to do use the Collections chipboard squares and covered them with all different patterned papers, and then embellished.

WYSIWYG - This is my first DT layout for Blueye Dezines, a new brand of products. Those heart shape thingies are felt ribbons. BED's felt ribbons are very funky and cool. Can't wait to get the next package to play with and make more layouts. These products are already available in US and there is already an Asian distributor.

rain+mud=boy - This was the layout I did in 1.5 hour's time at Monk's crop last Friday. It was one of those unplanned layouts that turned out decent and likeable. I think Love Elsie papers have that effect on me. LOL... Can you see the stitches that resemble rain and the very big rain drops? Mighty proud of myself actually.

I went to the Fiskars warehouse sale yesterday. Mostly tools on sale, so I grabbed a couple of craft knives ($1 each), a couple of replacement blades (50c each), a hand-held rotary cutter (almost resembles a pizza cutter, $3), half a dozen packets of Heidi Grace decorative hat pins all at $1 each (to share with Ruey of course), a circle border punch for $3, a set of Teeny tiny punch for my daughter to play with ($3).. and some other stuff.... walked out $21 poorer, which was quite good. I don't think I'll be running out of cutting equipment anytime soon. Hahahahah....

I'm trying very hard to finish the 2nd layout I started at the crop. GOT TO FINISH IT.... before I go to another crop tomorrow night. :)

Cheers!

The Week

2007-08-22T21:37:00.000+10:00

Thank you to all who responded to my last post. To update, she didn't and hasn't stopped. It's like all of a sudden, she has just become a born-again 2-year-old toddler, getting her hands on anything and everything. After speaking to a few people, we have all come to one conclusion. She needs stimulation. She probably is very bored with kinder by now, and all ready to move onto something more exciting and challenging. I can't say I disagree. She can write her alphabets, both upper and lower case, with 90% accuracy; she has learned to spell some very basic words phonetically. I can't ask for more from a 5-year-old. So with all those excess energy in her, it's no wonder she is destructive. So I'm on the hunt for more activities for her... thinking of dancing. Will investigate that.

On Friday, I went to Ruey's place for lunch, to catch up with Shirley and Vita. Kids just played although they seem a bit lost without Jeromel there. Shirley and Vita brought their cameras to play and I had to play model (nah.... I didn't have to, just me being vain... lol). And I particularly liked this shot Shirley took of me...

That evening, I went to a crop at Carolyn's. As usual, I was disorganised and didn't get to adjust photos till late. By the time I was done adjusting and was ready to print, I realised that the printer had run out of ink, so I couldn't print. All my planned layouts just went out the window. I just picked up 2 Poppy Ink kits, some American Crafts thickers in my hand carry tote, and my AMM tote and took off. THE LEAST I HAVE PACKED FOR A CROP.... EVER!!!! I was planning to get there and be a sticky beak to see what everyone else is doing cos I have lost my mood. But then when I got there. ... I did a layout in like 1.5 hours. Then I started another layout but couldn't finish it cos I didn't bring the right alphas with me. Then I won a RAK of a little papier mache box which I altered on the spot and gave it to Monk as a little gift. I think my mojo lives with the Ondaatjes. The last time I cropped at her house, I also did a layout in an hour. Monk... you can count on me to be there every month from now on. :) :) Will take some pics to share another day.

On Saturday, we drove for MILES trying to hunt down some Cloud 9 Rain Dots. Naturally, when you are desperately hunting down something remotely scrapbooking, you can never find it. After dragging the kids all around town, shop after shop, I felt bad so I suggested to Peter that we take them to a "shop of their kind", i.e. a departmental store with a toys department. We bought this little game called Ker Plunk!

I've never heard of it but apparently it has been around for decades. You are supposed to pull the sticks out one by one.... until the marbles go KerPlunk! into the bottom chamber. Aim is to get as little marbles as possible. But of course, the kids LOVE the marbles going KerPlunk! They were just rapt everytime they get some marbles and to them, that is winning the game. LOL... So this is our first family game. :)

That's all I can remember for now. Will blog more when I remember more.

Banished my daughter!

2007-08-13T12:19:00.000+10:00

This is post is not for the faint-hearted or the bleeding hearts.

My daughter got into A LOT of mischief yesterday. Yesterday in the afternoon, while Peter and I were watching a movie on TV, she did a whole lot of "destructive art"... if they even qualify as art!

1. She went into the bathroom and took out 2 pots of lip gloss from my drawer and practically did colour tests on her pair of jeans (like you would on your hand when trying out lipsticks).

2. She went into the study which she knows she is not allowed to, took out a black texter which she ALSO knows she is not allowed to, and drew on her brother's doona cover, which penetrated onto his doona, drew on his bead post, and on one of our drawers in the study.

3. While she was in the bathroom, she also took some hair gel and applied onto her hair, which I didn't realise until this morning while I was combing her hair.

My blood boiled beyond boiling point. It wasn't so much of the cleaning up or washing I had to do. But the fact that she actually did something like this. It was not just innocent mischief because if it was innocent, the child will just come up to you and show off their "creation" and smile! But while I was watching the movie, I asked her a few times...eg where she was... what she was doing... etc etc. She just lied and said "I'm just lying in bed" or "I'm just going to the toilet". And then she also made frequent appearances in the lounge room to play with the brother too... like forming an alibi!

When I finally went into their bedroom to fold up the laundry, I was horrified to see what had happened to her jeans! I asked her what happened, she said her brother did wee-wee on her pants. I sternly told her to fess up .... and she quickly did.

She copped a double time out straight up. I was so worked up and upset it was beyond comprehension. I had to walk out of the room before I did anything I'll regret. Then I concocted more punishment. After her time out, I told her she will not get anymore TV for the rest of the day. AND the ultimate punishment for her, she was not to talk to me or be near me for the rest of the day. This made her cry. I had to show her how disappointed I was at her behaviour. And time outs and no-TV just don't quite cut it. At bedtime, she was prompted by Daddy to come apologise to me.

Today, I COULDN'T WAIT to send her off to kinder ..... banished! But luck was not on my side. She didn't want to stay at kinder. I took her there and left her like any other day. Everything was fine and the teacher rang me in less than 1/2 hour cos she told them, "I just want my mommy." So I went and picked her up, giving her the benefit of the doubt. As soon as she got home, she was running up and down the hall way... and I questioned her... why she didn't want to stay at the kinder, guess what she said? "Cos I wanted to play with Phaedon!" ... without batting an eyelid.

So for all those still reading, you still feel sorry for her?

I rest my case.

Looooook!!!

2007-08-11T14:00:00.000+10:00

I didn't do any layouts last night during the crop. But I made these little babies. I meant to use them as a little gift box, probably fill it with Scrapbooking goodies or lollies and choccies perhaps? I was inspired by Michele Witchell's Cake Slice Box. After seeing her cake slice box, I googled for cake slice box templates. I found a few but didn't quite like the measurements. In addition, I wanted to "hinge" the lid and most templates didn't accommodate for that. So I constructed my own template. I swear, I've not used a protractor, and a right-angled ruler since high school! LOL... The only thing I can't figure out, is why the gape (especially obvious in the 2nd one). But I'm chuffed.... that I "constructed" something from scratch. Mighty proud of myself here. :D :D :D

<<>>

I also played with my Stampin' Up goodies today. Man!!! The wonder crayons... soooooo fabulous! I still find the stamp pads a little tricky to open but I'll get use to it.

Have a fantastic weekend to you all!

Singapore National Day

2007-08-10T09:26:00.001+10:00

The Crop for Kids committee had our first meeting on Wednesday, August 8th. It was really exciting to get everything started, and great to have these wonderful ladies offer their helping hand in the committee. We are all very focussed and driven. We have A DATE!

WHAT: Crop For Kids 2008
WHEN: 15th March 2008, Saturday
WHO: Jess, Tania, Jorja, Sofi, Jacqui, Carolyn, Ruey, Katie, Suzanne, Trish, Lyn and myself!
WHERE: Still negotiating, to be confirmed
WHY: Because we love our kids ... and scrapbooking of course

We have VERY EXCITING things planned for this event. Other than the crop on 15th March, we are also going to have lots of activities for our blog. So seriously, stay tuned to the Crop For Kids blog.

It was Singapore's National Day on August 9th. It celebrates the day we gained our independence from Malaysia in 1965. Yes, we are only a tiny and young nation. So tiny you may not see the dot on the atlas, and so young at 42 years old. And yet, we are sooooo big and advanced in our development and achievements. I am very proud to be a Singaporean. On a day like this, I am always a little more sentimental than usual, cos I miss home. :) But, on a good note, we will be going to Singapore in November for my brother's wedding. YAY!

Phaedon had a bout of temperature the day after his needles, but nothing some Nurofen can't fix. He loves Nurofen like he loves lollies anyway.

August 9th is also my SIL's birthday. So I should never forget either occasions, really, should I? She had us over for pizza and cake last night. I missed lunch (unintentionally), and had too much crackers and dips before the pizza was even served. Then I had too much pizza, and was too stuffed to enjoy her cake. But can't complain, I didn't have to cook dinner! Whoo-hoo!!!

Tonight, I'm having a bunch of girls coming to my house for a crop and/or chat. Can't wait! Maybe I should be cleaning up a little bit now.

Chat soon!

My Brave Boy

2007-08-07T21:18:00.001+10:00

It was Phaedon's 4-year-old immunisation today. I have been dreading this day. I dreaded the same day last year when it was Ellen's turn. She cried so loud and was a mess for all of 2 minutes. But as soon as we said we are going to McDonald's for dinner, she was all happy. So you can imagine why I really dread this day, especially knowing how difficult my son is. Well, he was difficult, that much was true. I told him that we have to take him to see some nurses, and they will give him some medicine on his arm, which will hurt a little bit. But I had to tell him that we will take him to McDonald's afterwards for dinner (same deal!). Straight away, he started whinging and whining..."I don't want to go the medicine shop... I am not sick!!!" and kept repeating that for as long as he could remember.

But when it was his turn, he sat on Peter's lap, witnessed the nurses putting the needle into his left arm, .... and nothing! I kept a close eye of his facial expression expecting to hear him scream and cry .... all he did was winced a little bit. Then we had to swap him over on his other side to be jabbed on his right arm. Again, winced and that was it! No tears, no crying, no flinching, no whinging, NOTHING!!! Nothing like his sister! He must have inherited my pain threshold. I even had lollies in my bag, his hanky (a security thing), dinosaur toys, etc as offerings and I didn't even need them! But he got a lolly anyway for being such a brave boy. :)

I will be attending the first Crop For Kids 2008 meeting tomorrow. Good Friday is early next year, on March 21. So we will be having the fundraising crop early in 2008 too. There will be more details on the Crop For Kids blog soon after our first meeting tomorrow night. Please bookmark that website if you are keen to find out more!

Come visit again soon!

Cal and Hsu's day out

2007-08-06T10:36:00.000+10:00

Uncle Jimmy's funeral was good. Simple and yet celebrated the man's life. His eldest son gave a great eulogy which made all of us smile and an odd giggle here and there. It wasn't an uncomfortable funeral, for no better word.

We met our friends, Cal and Hsu from Singapore on Saturday and literally spent the WHOLE day with them. We started with brunch at Retro cafe on Brunswick Street. They serve breakfast ALL DAY, so we actually had breakfast at 12 noon! Eggs Benedict, pancakes, Hangover Brekky, Big Brekky... the lot. Then we proceeded to take them shopping at DFO (Direct Factory Outlet) in Essendon. I bought a couple of tops and so did Hsu. She is so fun to shop with, cos we both like colourful stuff and very similar tastes in clothes. For dinner...... mmmmmmmm...... Sorry, I can't help myself but reminisce first. LOL... We took them to one of our favourite cafes in St Kilda, called Street Cafe (23 Fitzroy Street, St. Kilda). Peter and I used to go there BK (before kids). There is this dish we would always order .... Jambalaya. On the menu, it says it is a Jambalaya for 2, but realistically, 3 people can share it and you'll still be rolling out of the cafe. It is done like a spanish paella, BUT if you were like me, disappointed that a paella is dry and crispy, then you MUST try this. It is cooked in a paella dish, but kept very very moist (like a risotto). The flavours are Creole, tonnes of great seafood, chicken, chorizo, olives, ..... Everyone was impressed with it. And after 5 years of not patronising them, I must say the dish is still GREAT as ever! We tortured our kids a little today, they had an extremely long day. We could see that Phaedon was just staring into blankness towards the end of the night. He was dog tired, so was Ellen.

On Sunday, I attended a Tupperware party hosted by Jess. Had a chance to see Jess newly renovated home and BOY am I loving their kitchen! I only bought a couple of things to add to my current "collection". **oops** Then I rushed home to prepare dinner as I invited Cal and Hsu over for dinner again. On the menu were Lamb casserole, Caesar salad, Crispy roast potatoes, rice and dinner rolls.... and... and ... AND.... Chocolate Fondue for dessert. It's my cheats way of getting dessert out of the way. Get fruits, eg strawberries, bananas, marshmallows, etc. Melt Toblerone chocolate with some cream, add a dash of Grand Marnier.... voila!!! Serve in ramekins, or coffee cups like I do cos I don't have a fondue set. Oranges/mandarins are also great with chocolate.

We were so full afterwards, no one could hold a conversation. They are off to drive round Great Ocean Road, Phillip Island, Yarra Valley winery tours... etc.

Today was great mail day again. I received my order from Create My Keepsakes (I couldn't pass up a 40% sale and had to get the pageframes), Memory Bug (I have been hunting for a very long time, the Heidi Swapp 12" clock overlay Moments in black, as well as XL ghost clocks), and my eBay order of Rhonna Farrer stamps have finally arrived after 1 solid month!!!!! The seller kept telling me she has sent it 6 days after end of auction (July 6), and even offered to claim insurance blah blah blah.... MY FOOT! The package I got today, was post marked July 30. She even signed the custom declaration form herself dated July 30! Not a very good liar, I reckon.

I've been nagging at myself to scrap scrap scrap.... but I just couldn't do it. Lots of new products waiting for me to play with, but I just couldn't bring myself to sit down and print any photos. Slack! I shan't blame it on mojo, they already cop quite a lot of heat from a lot of scrappers all the time. I'm pretty sure I'm just lazy LOL I promise I will scrap at least 1 layout before Friday! That is my challenge to myself.

See you again soon!

This week seems so long...

2007-08-01T14:02:00.000+10:00

I do have a few things happening at the end of this week and I really look forward to them - a dinner with families of Peter's colleagues at a Chinese restaurant that was going to happen on Wednesday (got postponed to Thursday), friends from Singapore (Cal and Hsu) will be in town so we'll be catching up, Tupperware party at Jess' ... You know how the week seems long when you are looking forward to some events?

Then yesterday, we got a phone call from my FIL. Peter's uncle, Uncle Jimmy, passed away in the hospital at 4.30am on Tuesday morning.Uncle Jimmy had not been well for a while. In fact, he had been in and out of hospitals for really critical illnesses and unfavourable prognoses, with dim hopes of leaving the hospital for the past 2 decades! But every time he just managed to prove them wrong. He had heart attacks, angina problems, kidney failures, pneumonias, chest infections, so much so that the doctors put him under induced coma .... you name it, he had it. The doctors had time and again said to the family, to be prepared. They have heard it so many times, they were probably used to it. He would always managed to walk out of the hospital on two legs, and lived a normal and great life. He would take the train into the city on a regular basis. He would make friends with strangers, the grocers and butchers at the Vic Market.

This time he didn't make it. But I think we expected that too. We went to their house yesterday for a visit. The house full of visitors was quite lively in my opinion, which I think is a great thing. According to his children, he wanted to be cremated. On Friday, we will be attending his funeral.I was telling Jorja, I don't like funerals, not because I feel sad but because I don't. It is one of those occasions where you just don't know what to do - to be happy or to be sad? What to say - there's nothing you can say to make the occasion right? My personal feelings about death is that it is part of life. There is nothing to fear, and everyone should expect that. It will come to us (or our loved ones) one day, like it or not. I would rather celebrate one's life, than mourn one's death. If you have spent every living moment of your life being happy and having no regrets, there's nothing to mourn about. But I understand that not everyone shares the same sentiments like I do, so that's why I don't like attending funerals, cos I don't know what else to say to not offend. Does that make sense? So I will keep very quiet, and if you know me, that makes me the most uneasy - to stay quiet!! LOL...

So now, the passing of Uncle Jimmy makes this week seem even longer.

On another note, I received the felt shapes I bought off this Etsy store - Tattered Tags. Look at these things! Just thought they are sooo cute, I had to get some. I ordered them on 27 Jul, and got it today... 1 Aug! How quick?!?!

I also received delivery of a new mouse. NO! NOT THE 4-LEGGED TAILED FURRY CREATURES! The ones we use for computers!! So now I'm scrolling the pages with ease.

I really should be scrapping. But before that, I got tagged by cutie, Jenn Tan and the sensational, Nura Keif. I am now also a Rockin' Girl Blogger!

And last but not least, if you feel like a challenge, go to {CREATE} Make It Happen! and do the August challenge - Red/White. :) The RAK prize is pretty groovy! And if that's not enough, if you post here to let me know that you have done the challenge and submitted it to them, I will do a random draw to win a RAK from me too (if there's more than 1 submission)! So double chances of winning! Get scrapping!!! :) :) :)

I hope you have a great rest-of-the-week after the hump.

Good Mail week!

2007-07-29T12:27:00.000+10:00

We had kind of a busy week. But I couldn't remember what exactly we were busy with. One of those weeks, you know?

I ordered some Love, Elsie Lola and Riley products from USA and they are now up on eBay. If you are one of those dying to buy them cos they are exclusive to a craft shop in USA, and they are not making their way to Australia, please click on this link. Thanks!

The All My Memories Tote-ally Cool Tote 2 are finally here!!!! YES! The new ones with patterns! We waited soooooo long for these. Made a preorder a few months' back. They have finally arrived and I quickly gave the distributor my credit card number so they could process my order and have them sent out of their warehouse PRONTO!! The totes arrived at my doorstep THE NEXT DAY!! WHOOOOHOOO!!!!!! I gave them (the totes, not the delivery man) big hugs and quickly filled mine up. I got a black & white (strangely predominantly white), and you know what, THEY SWIVEL!! I'm quite pathetic I know. :)The other 3 (Red stripes and Plum Polkadot) went to Jess, Ruey and Felicity. It was also an exciting Friday night cos we are going to Ruey's for the Stampin' Up demo she's hosting. The lovely Fleur did the demo for us. I swear, most of us HAD some idea what we wanted to buy. But by the end of the demo, most of our "wish list" was just out of the window cos there was so many more interesting products!

On Saturday, I had a 1-hour remedial massage and a chiro appointment which means I get to get out of the house without the kids. I also got to go to Peter Alexander and bought myself a pair of these fancy slipper boots. I got the charcoal with lime green pair :) :) :)

Sunday - Kinder Working Bee today at Ellen's Kinder. So I roped Peter into it, bringing shovels, rakes and wheelbarrows to fill up the play area with soft bark. There were a few other Dads and Moms who came to give a helping hand too. We also did a sausage sizzle at the end of the session.

But before the whole thing started, we witnessed a car running over a dog, and it didn't survive. There were these 2 little dogs that (we think) belong to a house opposite the kinder. I believe these dogs are not registered (no collar), and they are not the best behaved dogs. They are never on a leash, the owners are never in sight, and they would quite often bark and growl at the kinder kids in the morning. A few times, and that was what happened this morning as well, they crossed the road, got closer to us, and growled at us. So while I was standing in front of my kids protecting them from these 2 dogs, one of the dogs got run over by a car. As much as I hated dogs that don't behave (but that has to do with irresponsible pet owners), I felt sorry for the dog. We had to pick it up and laid it on the nature strip. The other dog was probably feeling very sad that its friend got run over cos it won't leave. We knocked on the presumed owner's door but no one came to it. Apparently someone who saw what happened later, said that the owners came out, had a look at the dead dog, and left it there!!! How awful! Shame on you!

Anyway, I think it's a loooooong enough post. I need to get off this computer now. Laters!

Lunch, and LAYOUT!

2007-07-22T16:38:00.000+10:00

I met with a few girls yesterday for lunch - Liz, Ngaire, Melissa, Jorja and Monk. It was one glorious winter day, and we had soooo much fun. Food was great, the desserts were to die for. And we had to do something scrapbooky like taking some pics too.

Group shot with the help of waiter (not that crash hot looking, that's why we didn't put on that 1000W smile but gorgeous bunch nonetheless!).

Had to take pics of ME of course!!!!

Lovely friends, Jorja and Monk!

Monk had said that one of the in-things to do in photography is to take a portrait photo from this angle so we don't get double chins and anything undesirable. So I climbed the couch and she posed! LOL ...

Lately, some Aussie online scrapbooking stores are bugging me. I don't know what their idea of "pre-orders" is, but I certainly have a very different idea. The preorder system I have come to know of, involves the retailer taking your order online, before the stock comes in, so that you get priority over those who didn't. But you are GUARANTEED to have them. But some of these local online stores seem to have a completely twisted idea of preordering. They take your orders without knowing what they will be receiving. They may have ordered the whole range, but if they get delivered 1/2 the range, and if you order something from that 1/2 of the range that they didn't get delivered, you just don't get them. Too bad! Some even worse, they use your preorder as a gauge of how much stock they need to order, and THEN place the order! I have serious issues with these retailers because while I have my preorders with them, I feel committed. If I see these products available on another Aussie store, I would be wondering ...
1. "if this store is already stocking them, then why is my preorder not dispatched yet?"
2. "should I get them from this store now that they are right in front of me?"
3. "should I wait for my preorder to be fulfilled?"
4. "If I wait, will I still get all of the items I have preordered or will there be missing items??"

This frustrates me to no end. To me, when I place a preorder, I EXPECT to get whatever I have ordered. That's the whole idea of preordering, i.e. I don't want to miss out. Even if they don't all arrive together, which happens, I know I'll still be getting it. But I really don't expect to place a preorder, wait for months, and then be told that I am only getting half of what I have ordered! That is just preposterous!

Anyway, enough of my whining.

I also did 2 layouts at the crop on Friday night. I can only show 1 at the moment, but I'm really happy that I finally get to do ONE layout that doesn't need to be kept until whenever. I CAN SHOW IT OFF!!!! YAY!! So here it is...

LO - Size Matters. I've had this layout in mind for a while now, just cannot find time to scrap it. The journaling reads:
I believe it is normal. I believe it is all part of toilet-training. Kids just love doing a running commentary when they do their 'big jobs'. This was one of yours...
Me: Are you done?
You: I keep pushing and pushing... it is not coming out.
(another hard push .... "nnngggg!!!"...)
You: It's coming! (with a glee on your face)
("nnnggg!!!"....)
You: YAY! It's out! It's a BIG one!!
(lifts up one leg to take a peek inside the toilet bowl)
You: Oh no.... just medium.

Materials: Scenic Route papers, Bazzill Basics cardstock, Scenic Route chipboard letters, Scenic Route letter stickers, MME embossed chipboards, Blueye Dezines felt ribbons, brads.

This is going to be one of those layouts that I will use to blackmail him in future... BWAHAHAHAH... Man! I am PUMPED to do more! LOL...

Edited to add that, no, that is not a photo of my son while he's on the toilet, but it's the same "glee".

This week.....

2007-07-19T19:46:00.001+10:00

I have been wanting to blog about this for a few days now, just kept forgetting.

My daughter has taken a liking to this character on TV. I'm not sure what to make of it. It is an English game show called Lily Savage Blankety Blanks. Now for those who don't know.... Lily Savage (Google it, you'll find her) is a comic drag character played by Paul O'Grady. She has been nicknamed Birkenhead Bombshell, and has an extremely heavy Birkenhead accent. She dresses... well... like most drag queens do really.......

And my daughter is ADDICTED to this game show that plays daily at 5.00pm on UKTV (one of the pay TV channels). I have a hard time getting her accent, so I seriously doubt my daughter understands what she says. Besides, there are plenty of adult humour between her, her celebrity guests and contestants. But she will still laugh at her antics (obviously cued by the laughter on screen). I must admit, she is very very funny and comical. But I just don't understand how she could comprehend any of what she says. She would actually remind us to put the program on for her!!! She calls it "The Silly Lady Show". BWAHAHAHAHA....

Ellen's kinder term didn't start till Tuesday. On Monday, I decided to do some motherly duties and took the kids to a nearby playground for the kids to have a play. I also brought along a mat, some sandwiches so we can do a picnic. Believe it or not, I have never done this with my kids, by myself that is. I also brought along some bread crusts so we can go feed the ducks! There hasn't been a good sunny day all of the school holidays. Everyday has been gloomy, rainy (not complaining about having rain cos we really needed it), and really really cold. The kids loved a good play at the playground... and Phaedon just couldn't wait to feed the ducks.... kept running towards the pond. Took a few pics...

After this glorious winter day, Ellen went back to kinder the next day with a 6-degree centigrade day. It was miserable. Kids couldn't go out to play because there had been a bit too much rain and the playground was wet and muddy.

I had some foot-in-my-mouth-good-luck today. I found out that I won the RAK prize on Tinkering Ink's Blog!!!!! YAAAAAAAAYYYYY!!!! I was just whinging to Ruey a few days ago - that there must be a bounty set for Lady Luck if she ever comes to me. I don't win anything, anything that has to do with luck. I would be playing bingo, and miss my bingo and not even realise it until someone else wins it ..... TWICE! So today, I won one of Tinkering Ink's RAK prizes!!!! Could not believe my eyes! I SMSed Ruey and she had a good laugh at me too. But wait!!! There's more!!! I get to pick a line of products I like!! Yippee! I couldn't go pass Botanical Bliss....

I'm going to a crop tomorrow night at Monk's. I really hope to scrap at least 1 layout. And then lunch with a few scrapping friends on Saturday? What do you have planned for this weekend?

The Party

2007-07-16T13:44:00.000+10:00

Always love that Peter Sellers movie. The house was nice (in the 60s/70s point of view), the outfits were trendy,.. and the part that makes me laugh the most was still his "Birdie num num".... LOL

Anyway, I've gone totally off topic. I wanted to tell you about the party, OUR party for the kids. Nothing big, just immediate family, and very close friends. We had about 16 adults, 7 kids.... enough to make this house seem like a hole. But everyone ate, chatted, laughed, ate some more.... the finger food all went in 1/2 hour. I was beginning to feel embarrassed and worried that I actually didn't prepare enough food! But from a very selfish point of view..... I hate leftovers! LOL... I would rather have just enough food... guests finish eating and sit around and chat, and then continue to pick on bits of food here and there for the next few hours. Cos our brains do register how full we actually are, way after we have stuffed ourselves with too much food. So I'm actually doing everyone's diet a HUGE favour.... BWAHAHAHAHA....

We also had an incident with my FIL. Him being a traditional Greek man, probably never had sushi in his life, and never seen them, didn't know what that green paste was. The small amount of "avocado dip", was in the middle of the sushi and my other relatively bigger bowls of dips. So he picked up a cracker, smothered it with "avocado dip" ..... ..... he nearly died. I wish I was there to witness it, but everyone who saw what happened, some had to walk away and laugh, some had to keep their giggles down ..... but he apparently turned red, and all the tears were running down his face.... Damn! Would have been a perfect Kodak moment!

Here are some pics....

Cupcake tree - OK, this was my first piping effort in my whole entire life, so at least give me credit for that. Didn't know what pattern each tip will give me, so I just went for it and hoped for the best.

Pirate Ship Cake - This was Jess' idea cos she made the same cake for her son, Ethan's birthday. I spent more time hunting down the pirate toys than I did making the cake. No, actually I lied.... I almost forgot about the batch of icing that I stuffed up! LOL....

The spread - Vol-au-vents were also my first attempt. Sushi were ordered. There were some sausage rolls too.... but I didn't even get a chance to snap some photos of them cos they were gone before I came back out from the kitchen!

Blowing out candles - I told Ellen she can blow out 2 of Phaedon's candles on this side of the cake cos she wasn't having candles on her cupcake tree.

And I promised a photo of me in my short hair..... left curly. I stole my neighbour's garden as the backdrop cos my garden sucks big time. LOL...

I was TAGGED by Kim Arnold.(sometime early July.... oops!) I really like the simplicity of her style, and she has the biggest heart, so you can't not like Kim. BTW Kim, I didn't know half those things about you!!!!!!! :) :)

The Rules: So this is how it works. I must post the rules, 7 random things about me and then tag others to do the same. Sound fair enough, right? These are the rules…. each player starts with 7 random facts about themselves on their Blog. People who are tagged need to blog 7 facts about themselves and post the rules as well. At the end of their blog list 7 people you are tagging. Let them know that they are tagged by leaving them a comment.

1. I moved out of home at 17 to live in a clinic shophouse (very common in Asia.... shop on ground floor, residence above) while doing my Diploma in Business. I worked part-time at the clinic for a low wage, while living upstairs (kind of free boarding), while studying.

2. I played the clarinet for 10 years (age 8 - 17). Made it to First Clarinetist when I was 15, and played in many school concerts and public concerts. So stage fright? Nah....

3. I told everyone when I left Singapore, that I am going to Australia to study. I did "some" studies, but I actually came to Australia in the hope of getting somewhere with my relationship with Peter. He wouldn't promise me anything, but I just had to try. I guess I my constant bugging worked! LOL...

4. I dislike lots of Mediterranean food - olives, capers, feta cheese, ricotta cheese, ... and green vegies that had their chlorophyll cooked out of them, and they turn yellow... like they have shit their pants.

5. I prefer not to be driving behind Asian or female drivers. That combination is deadly.... except for me. :D

6. I don't like freezing cooked food.

7. My ex-husband of 10 years still won't talk to me cos he's still angry. I wish he can get over himself.

OK... I'm tagging the following friends.... Some of you may already have done it before....but just tell me something else to humour me ... hehehe

1. Ruey (you think you can get away with not doing one???)
2. Christie
3. Felicity
4. Jane
5. Aida
6. Jenn
7. Nura Keif

MUAKS to everyone.... can't wait till tomorrow is here and Ellen goes back to kinder. :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Phaedon!!

2007-07-14T23:14:00.000+10:00

What's going on... 2 blog entries in a day!!!!!

Oh, I'm such a horrible mother. I did all my whinging... and actually forgot to wish my son Happy Birthday. He doesn't quite get why his birthday is today... and the party is tomorrow, and kept asking for his pirate ship cake. tee hee.....

This is my message for him, it'll be in one of my layouts some time:

Happy Birthday, Phaedon!!!!! You have turned 4. And I want you to know that no matter how old you are, you are always my very precious bubba. I love it that every morning around 7, you come into our bed and snuggle up with me. I love it that you still want me to carry you like a baby in my arms when you are tired. I love it that you give me lots of kisses when I sit there waiting for you to finish your toilet business. I love it that you laugh heartily over the most trivial and silliest things. And most of all... I love that you are my son.

OK.... better go have my cuppa... and sleep.... and slave for the party again when tomorrow comes.

Day before the party

2007-07-14T18:57:00.001+10:00

THANK YOU EVERYONE, for your sweet comments about my hair. Will do some shots tomorrow when Ruey is here .... and I will leave them curly. ;-)

We are having a joined birthday party for both kids tomorrow, at 2pm. I take advantage that their birthdays are only 2 weeks apart, so I have always had combined parties. That way, I only need to do it once, and people only need to come once (which I'm sure many will appreciate due to their busy schedules). I figure .... when they get older and start having their own friends at school, and having a party together with your younger brother / older sister is something very uncool, they will then ask for their own parties. But while they are still 'under control', I call the shots.

OK... menu for the party:
1. 1x birthday cake - Phaedon
2. 1x birthday cake - Ellen
3. Vol-au-vents
4. Sausage rolls
5. Sushi - California rolls, Tobiko, Mix hand rolls
6. Jelly (compliments from Ruey)

So today has been non-stop for me. I had to go to a cake deco shop in the city to get these Wilton Nut and Party Cups. I would like to use them to make the cupcakes for my cupcake tree, which will be Ellen's birthday cake. I could've used normal cupcake liners but I don't have enough muffin trays to make 23 at one go, and I didn't think leaving the cake mixture out while the first tray was baking, wasn't a good idea.

I got home, to bake Phaedon's birthday cake. I am making a Pirate Ship cake for him. Thanks to Jess for this brilliant suggestion. Remember a few posts ago, I was asking for Playmobil toys? I found a set of Playmobil pirates on eBay and I bought them. Those will be for the cake deco. So while the cake was cooling, I made the filling for my vol-au-vents - chicken and mushroom.

Then I started making the 2nd batch of cake mixture for Ellen's cupcakes. Seeing that it was the same cake mixture as Phaedon, this one went smoothly in the oven..... until I checked it at 1/2 time, I found that all the cups have over-flowed. I have filled them up too much. STUFF-UP #1.

Then I started making the butter cream icing for the pirate ship cake. You would have thought I would still remember how to do it considering I did the same icing 2 weeks ago for Ellen's cake for kinder. Bugger-all chance... but I still went ahead without the destruction manual - icing sugar and butter all in - AT THE SAME TIME. DESTRUCTION it was. Into the bin the crumbly icing went. STUFF-UP #2. Started all over again. This time, I read the instructions... in detail. Somehow I don't think I'll ever forget that method again.

We also needed some wafer biscuits to act as the cannons on the ship. And you think I remembered to tell my husband to stop eating those wafers like they were going out of fashion?? So no cannons. I had to get Ruey to buy me the wafers and bring them to me tomorrow before the party. STUFF-UP#3.

Now the cupcakes have cooled... I stood over the sink and scraped the overflowed cupcakes one by one. Thank goodness I only bought a medium size cupcake tree with 23 cupcakes. And I sent DH to the supermarket to get more unsalted butter and icing sugar to make icing for the cupcakes since I completely destroyed the first batch.

By 6.30pm... I'm exhausted. My feet are aching cos I've been standing all day - baking, stir-frying, baking, icing, more icing, scraping ...

Fortunately, I only have 1 more item on the menu - sausage rolls. I think I'll leave them for tomorrow, as well as the icing on the cupcakes. I've ordered 2 platters of sushi to be picked up tomorrow as well and Peter can take care of that.

I hope I have the brains to take some pics tomorrow.

Chilling out tonight.

Ok, ok... photos...

2007-07-10T17:21:00.000+10:00

Well... I've been chased by several friends who wants to see photos me in my new hair do. But unfortunately, no one took a picture of my new hair (when I had make up on and looked nice). So I didn't have photos for days. Last night, I was out with Jess and I purposely did my make up, and had her take my photos. Not my best side (LOL... is there a good side?) but here they are.

I would have gone a lot shorter (Sharon Stone short ... hehehe) but my hairdresser was reluctant. He convinced me that I should do it in 2 stages.... in case I regret. As soon as I came out of the salon... I regretted. I regretted not sticking to my guts. Well, I wasn't going back in straight away to have it cut shorter and have him charge me again ... so I'll keep it for a few months. But I must say, it is SO good having short hair again. I use a lot less shampoo, my showers are quicker, my hair dries faster .... all good things!

I've done a few layouts but nothing I can show yet. One of them a layout for Addicted to Craft, using Blueye Dezine products. Another layout I have to churn out pretty quickly will be for Blueye Dezine, of course using BED products. I need to scrap something I can show!!!! Having withdrawal symptoms!!! LOL... but then I am such a slow scrapper, I usually always run out of time meeting deadlines!

We have started planning Crop For Kids 2008. The first committee meeting would be some time around August. We would most likely be registering a new blog address with new details and so on. If anyone in Victoria/Melbourne is willing to contribute some of their time in helping us, please let me know. We do have LOTS more interesting stuff this time round. And as promised, we are going to let interstaters get involved!!! We achieved about $7K this year, so we believe with what we have in mind, we are going to do more next year. Keep a lookout for us!!

Kids and my hair

2007-07-06T01:36:00.000+10:00

No, it's not what it sounds. One has nothing to do with the other ... or does it?

Kids are doing a fantastic job driving me crazy during this first week of school holidays. I just can't wait for next week to be over. I don't know where my about-to-turn-4yo son is getting these clever ideas from. He will do something naughty, and as soon as he knows that I've found out, and was about to give him a scolding, he will run to me and hug my thighs really hard and say, "I love you, Mummy!" and then takes off!!

Then I have my just-turned-5 daughter, who now thinks that just because she has turned 5, she is allowed to do all the things adults do, eg. When I tell her off that she is not supposed to, she argued and said, "Well, I thought you said I'm a big girl!" .... Don't you just want to kick yourself sometimes? You tell them "You're a big girl now.." so they can stop being naughty and behave more reasonably, or give up the bottle, or make their own bed, or be a big sister and give in to your younger brother...... but you didn't mean that they can start playing with YOUR toiletries, or helping herself to air fresheners in the bathroom and practically spraying half a can after she used the toilet, or completely bossing everyone (especially her brother) around the house and reminding everyone that she is the big sister and hence should be listened to. How do you give a 5-year-old 'selective power'?

I have always had dead-straight hair. Last May, I had my hair permed. Since then, it has grown really long ... well ... long enough for me to get a bit sick of it. I thought about it for a week, and decided yesterday that that was what I would do - get the chop. The only question was... how short. Well ... I will post a photo on Saturday. Why Saturday? Because I am meeting some girlfriends for dinner on Friday, and they will get surprised first... hahaha...

These are some of the 'before' shots... curls and straight, but both long. It took me 8 years to grow it out to this length.

Over the last week or so, I have received 2 packages - one from Addicted to Craft, the other from Blueye Dezine, both of whom I'll be designing for the first time. Gorgeous drool-worthy packs I'll say. Gotta quickly finish these layouts I'm doing at the moment so I can get my hands on these yummy stuff soon!

If you have a sticky beak, stay tuned! I hope you do, and let me know what you think! Of my new hair, that is.

Barbie's house and layouts

2007-07-02T14:54:00.001+10:00

These are some of the pics of her dollhouse...

Overview. This whole thing folds up into a carry box.

Living/Bedroom - The bed is convertible to a couch and ottoman. See the lamp, TV, remove control and cordless phone. Notice the flower growing outside the window??

Bathroom - The shower and toilet make sounds. See the towel, scrub, bar of soap, shower curtain, bin.. etc.

Kitchen - Fridge can be opened and it has eggs, milk, etc in it. Love the dining table with clear 70s-inspired see through chairs and crockery LOL... And we are already missing a fork.

Couch and Table set - yet-to-open. Can you see the fish tank? And the cat on top of the fish tank trying to grab the fish? See the miniature magazine, photo frame, disposable soft drink cup...

Desk and chair - this is also yet-to-open. The details in this set... laptop, notebook, table-mounted pencil sharpener, pencil holder, tissue box, mesh chair...

Oh.. and there is a sport convertible car too... which I forgot to take a pic of. But we all know what Barbie looks like in one of them. So can you see why I'm very keen on this set? LOL

I was actually quite surprised to hear from a few ladies who responded to my previous entry, that they don't know what Playmobils are. Then I realised.... DUH! WHAT WAS I THINKING!!! We are from a different generation!!!!!! ROFLMFAO... Playmobils were big in the 70s when I was a kid. Playsets, figurines and accessories... pretty much like Lego, but not so squarish. And they have always been expensive. Although I have seen them at Myer stores before, they would have been on their way out of the kids toys hall of fame. They are still very much a collector's item though... probably more in Europe than here. I got in contact with the ebay seller whose auction was closing in a few days, and she agreed to sell that to me and send over by Express Post. So that's taken care of now. :) Thank you all for your help.

I know I haven't shown layouts for a while now. So I'll leave you with the following layouts published in the current For Keeps Creative Scrapbooking #56.

These were actually 2 of the layouts that I submitted for last year's Awards for Excellence competition. This is a transparency layout and photographing it posed a bit of a problem for myself, as well as the magazine too. It's not doing it a whole lot of justice.

OK... images overload.... tee hee....

See you again in blog world soon!

Happy Birthday, my Princess Gorgeous!

2007-07-01T19:11:00.000+10:00

Happy Birthday, Ellen, my Princess Gorgeous!!!!

My gorgeous daughter turned 5 today. What a milestone. Today is the day she will be getting rid of her bottle (yes... still weaning her, so she's only using a bottle for her afternoon milk for comfort). She got lots of hugs and kisses from Peter and myself. We went out for breakfast at McDonald's, followed by some shopping because we haven't really bought her a birthday present and I also needed to hunt around for some pirate figurines for a project, specifically Playmobil pirates. We got to Toy'R'Us before they even opened their doors! That had never happened to me before, LOL.

But after we got in, I was so disappointed. THEY DID NOT HAVE ANY PLAYMOBILS!!!!!!! What is a Toys'R'Us without Playmobils!!! Then I went to a few other fairly big departmental stores within the complex... and still no luck! I'm beginning to wonder what the heck is going on?!?! We even drove into the city to another store, hoping that since it's a bigger store, they should carry some. Not a single Playmobil soul... how sad! So if anyone knows a place in Australia that I can buy some Playmobile Pirates (other than eBay cos I know they have some but the auction doesn't finish for a while), I need to know... now ..... pronto ... immediately!

On another note, we did manage to buy Ellen a HUGE Barbie set that included: Totally Real House, Sport Convertible, Couch & Table playset, Futon & Table playset .... and the Barbie Doll (12" tall!!) was included! All these together would retail for A$179... and it was discounted to A$99. This would be her first ever Barbie doll set! I've never owned one doll myself, let alone a Barbie doll. But even though I never played with dolls, I have always had a thing for doll houses. Something about decorating the doll houses, room by room with tiny furniture, fascinates me. I've never introduced Barbie dolls, Bratz dolls and the like to Ellen because I didn't want "them" to "infect" her little mind with image-conscious ideas. Old school, I know. Not to mention, the endless outfits and "stuff" you are likely to keep buying in order to "update" your stash (pretty much like scrapbooking really)! But when I saw this bundle deal, and the chance to own lots of 'rooms' and a doll house, I kinda liked it more than she did. Think I almost convinced her to have it as a birthday present! LOL... it's plasticky I know... but it's so pweety I just had to. When she gets older, I was always going to get her a wooden doll house. We spent quite some time setting it up today.... all the tiny little things are so cute, eg TV remote control, cordless phone, hairdryer, cereal box, milk carton, eggs, washing machine/dryer, fridge, bar of soap, miniature magazine, cushion .... you name it. I'll try to take some photos tomorrow and post them here.

Okies ... laters!

Time to blog

2007-06-26T21:32:00.001+10:00

OK.... I haven't blogged for so long that Kim has buzzed me on MSN to ask if everything was OK. It's nice to know someone actually reads my blog! Hahaha... just kidding. I am so sorry. Other than my cough and cold, then the gastro (a very yukky one too) and fever, and then the cough and cold again.... and then my children also took turns doing the projectile vomits, and then my husband had the runs... we are all OK now. All the blogs I've visited, have had sick owners. So I hope everyone is on the mend.

On a good note, we have decided to go to Singapore in November for a holiday, as well as attending my brother's wedding. I am sooooo looking forward to that because I really miss home and my family and friends. I know our pockets are quite tight at the moment, but I'd rather refrain from buying scrapbooking stuff, and buy less clothing and outfits. SINGAPORE, HERE WE COME!!!! :) :) :)

On a better note, I made Ellen's birthday cake today. Her birthday is on Sunday but tomorrow is the last day of kinder for the term. We will take this cake to kinder tomorrow, and a lolly bag for each kid. I buy this magazine, Super Food Ideas regularly. In one of those issues, they had a bumper issue on Party Cakes, creatively using lollies, candy, marshmallows and all the sweet stuff, to decorate cakes. I was so inspired that I kept that magazine and vowed to make one for my daughter on her birthday. And I did. And I'm so proud of myself! LOL... Cheap everything - 2 packet cake mixes ($5), basic butter icing ($2), fruit sticks ($4 with leftovers). Well.... I did spend a bit on those flowers and butterflies which cost me about $6 but I only used two-thirds of the pack, so I'd say about $4 worth. And finally those decorative icing that comes in tiny tubes that made squeezing easy (butterflies' feelers, flower stems and the words) .... they are ingenious! I could have made them too but I couldn't be bothered with getting the colours right, and piping them from cones and so on. Ellen helped with the fruit sticks, the flowers and the butterflies, and also giving direction where she wants her name, and what colours to use. So what do you think? I missed my calling?? ROFL...

I will take more pics tomorrow at the kinder.... hopefully.

OK... that's all for now. Will blog again soon.

Long Weekend

2007-06-09T10:09:00.000+10:00

It's a long weekend here in Melbourne (Victoria). Monday is Queen's Birthday but it's not actually the Queen's birthday. All states and territories in Australia except Western Australia (WA) celebrate "Queen's Birthday" every 2nd Monday of June. WA celebrates that day in October and even that, is not the actual Queen's birthday. Yes, don't get me started on all these non-uniform gazetted public holidays. Guess we have to go ask the old lady when exactly is she celebrating hers in England. BUT! It's a holiday here nonetheless.

I was invited to a Tupperware party last night. Some of you might know, I was a Tupperware demonstrator at one stage, mid-2004 to late-2005, I think? I did quite OK for the first 7-8 months then it just dwindled off. I think when I started scrapbooking, was when I started focusing on something different. I was probably also spending more than I was making.... typical, isn't it? LOL.... Anyway, I have never been to a Tupperware party myself as a guest. So I was really keen to go to one. Alas, my friend's party turnout wasn't that fantastic. There were only 2 guests, but we still had a lot of fun chatting, and drinking cocktails (mocktails for me) made by Sally, the demonstrator. She was very nice and easy about everything. Some demonstrators I know of, are just tight-arse hormonal cows, who are more keen on making money than making customers happy. But most of them are just brain-washed by their managers, i.e. no party, no talk, to safe guard their interests. To me, you should weigh your pros and cons. If I can give that little bit extra to get a lot more out of a customer, I would. Sometimes, a little goes a long way, sometimes it doesn't. But you win some, and you lose some. That's life. Despite of the poor turnout (lots of last minute cancellations... justifed ones though), she still had over $500 sales, hence she received quite a lot of free gifts, and still counting because those who cancelled hasn't put in their orders.

Today, we are taking the kids to see Shred the Third in the cinemas. It's going to be an "adventure" for us. We are going together with Angela (cousin of Peter's) and Brad, and their son, Zack, who is the same age as Phaedon. So 4 adults, 3 kids.... I'm not sure what it's going to be like, but like I said, it'll be an adventure.

Tonight, Peter and I are going out to dinner with our friends. We haven't gone out without the kids for a looooong time. I mean, loooooong time. I'm counting .... a year? Maybe more? And we haven't done dinners with these friends without kids EVER! Before we had ours, their children have always come with us to dinners. When we had our kids, pfftt... forget about it! I am soooo looking forward to tonight.

No plans for Sunday yet. But I know on Monday, I'm going to be staying at home with the kids cos Peter is going to watch a Footy game with Theo at the MCG. It's a traditional Queen's birthday clash between Collingwood and Melbourne.

That's the update for this weekend. I'll leave you with this song. If you like the song, Every Breath You Take by The Police (FLASHBACK!!!), and you like the song Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol (YES!!! You've heard it enough times on Greys Anatomy), then you OUGHT to listen to this remix. It's unlike any remix you've ever heard of. I'm not a big remix fan but this one caught my attention on the radio. The DJ obviously did a good job with it, but it's a case of love it or hate it. And I love it!

Every Car You Chase

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RUEY AND JANE!!!!!

2007-06-05T21:22:00.000+10:00

IT'S RUEY'S AND JANE'S birthday!!! They are BIRTHDAY SISTERS!!

What are the chances of you meeting someone in your circle of friends who has the same birthday as you?!?! Yes, somehow these 2 wonderful girls managed that. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GIRLS!!!!! We had lunch together and there was a rather massive play area at the venue, so the kids went amuck... and left us alone most of the time (BONUS!!). Look at this photo.... you think something was said here that made them laugh so hard???!!!

My mobile phone flat-lined today. How it went dead? It would have to be the most bizarre thing to happen to a mobile phone. It was, I guess, "drowned".... the most forensic term I can come up with. But it didn't go into a washing machine, nor fall into a pond. It was soaked. I had a packet of these wet wipes, the Heinz Sticky Fingers wipes in my bag. I always carry a packet of them in my bag. They smell soooo yummy, and they are thick and clean yucky fingers very well. This bag I have in my bag is fairly new. I just opened it a couple of days ago. But this packet seems to have too much of the "wet stuff", that it has leaked through the opening of the packet, into my handbag. And heaps of it too. That's how my phone "drowned". I had to remove the battery.... let it dry for a few hours. Luckily, it survived. Gosh if it had died, it would have made it to the most bizarre method of killing a phone record. What would this poor phone say to another phone in mobile heaven?!?!

Phone A: "How did you die?"
My Phone: "I drowned."
Phone A: "Oh, you poor thing..."
My Phone: "No, it's not too bad really.... at least I smell good."
Phone A: "Huh??"
My Phone: "I drowned in Heinz Sticky Fingers wipes fluid."

I'm a bit mental. Excuse me.

I did this layout for fun. I was going to enter the SC Colour Competition. By the time I finished my other commitments..... I was too late to do my layout. No plans though, just had the papers... just wanted to attempt pink/green. Now that I don't have the competition over my head, I think I just couldn't care less how it looks, just go with the flow. This is the outcome.

Anyway.... that's it for now. I need to go hug my phone.

More HAPPY news!!!!

2007-05-24T19:51:00.000+10:00

You know the saying that goes.... when one door closes, another opens? Well, in my case, when one door closes, MANY opened.

Today I spoke to Luisa of Addicted to Craft, Australian distributor for some wonderful (and my favourite) brands, eg. American Crafts, Maya Road, My Minds Eye, Blueye Dezines (which I've also just got onto their DT), Pink Martini, Dream Street Papers, Prima Marketing, Everlasting Keepsakes, Gelatin Stamps, Rouge de Garance..... and many many more. Are you drooling yet? Cos I am. LOL.... I am so thrilled to announce that I am now one of their 8 Design Team members!!!!!!!!! I would NEVER have thought that an opportunity like THIS would fall on my lap!!!! Of course, I would like to thank Katja for this. First she gave me a Guest Designer position on Designing Memories, then she showed Brett and Luisa the layouts I did for her! So THANK YOU VERY MUCH, Katja!! And of course, THANK YOU BRETT AND LUISA!! I am soooo over the moon!

~~~~~~~~~

For the past 2 days we have been doing some school tours. Tours to decide which primary school to send Ellen to next year for Prep. We have decided to send her to a public school. The 2 schools we visited were just impressive. One of them will even be building their own indoor swimming pool!!! How impressive! I'm quite torn between the 2 schools. Both of them have impressive academic curriculums, but one emphasises on the children's awareness of community, while the other emphasises on activity and sports. hehehe... like Liberal vs Labour, Republican vs Democrat .... We will have to think about this.

Thank you everyone who has commented on my last blog post about my mini album. I'm very excited and have a few albums on hand now that I think I might want to work on! ..... soon, I hope. ;)

That's all for today.

Mini Album

2007-05-22T20:00:00.000+10:00

I had a great weekend!! I spent my Saturday at a crop with Trish Clark, who is the new owner of Scrapanalia, that went from 1pm to 11pm, and spent Sunday having breakfast at Maccas with my family, did some shopping with them and got a real bargain for a car booster seat for DD on Sunday.... how not to be happy? :) :) :)

I spent the entire day at the crop doing this album for my girlfriend, Gladys. I've known Gladys since we were 7.... a 30-year friendship. Hard to come by, don't you think? Her birthday was over a week ago but I only started working on this album last Saturday. It is sort of a birthday-cum -30th-anniversary friendship album. Gladys lives in Singapore, so this album is going to leave Australia tomorrow to catch a plane to get to her. Here are the pages...

(oh and before you laugh.... this is my 2nd ever mini album I've altered ..... )

This is a Maya Road round coaster album. Notice on the 6th photo, there is an additional circle made of transparency with some Creative Imaginations rubons. That goes between the 2 pages. I added that because I was afraid that the metal butterflies I used, which have their wings bent upwards for more effect, will damage the photo on the other page. Good thinking huh?? hehehe....

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Sunday breakfast at McDonald's is kinda our ritual now. If it isn't yet, I will make it one!! LOL... For one, I LOVE their breakfast - Egg McMuffin, Hash Brown, OJ. MMMmmmmm..... And we go to a Macca's that has a McCafe, so we can have those fancy coffees/teas, fancy lounge seats, shoo the kids to the playground after their breakfast, and I can read my scrapbooking magazines... IN PEACE. Isn't that the best way to spend a Sunday morning????!!!!

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The car booster seat we got is a Safe & Sound one, called Nova. Normally priced at $69.99, it was marked down to $39.99 at Target!! And I happened to have won a $25 voucher from the kinder's Mother's Day Raffle. So we really only paid $15 for the seat!

~~~~~~~~~~

Sadly, I've got the cold and cough after that weekend .... 2nd time this year. Bugger! The cough is seriously hurting me. It hurts when I take a deep breath to cough. Man! I hate coughs!

~~~~~~~~~~

We have made a couple of appointments this week to tour some primary schools. I hope I don't this lousy when I'm walking around the schools tomorrow and Thursday, and passing the yucky germs around.

That's all for now. Toodles!

Happy Days!!!

2007-05-17T14:39:00.000+10:00

Thank you to all those who commented on my last entry. I really appreciate you being thoughtful. Over the past few days, I kinda realised what really affected me wasn't the initial similarity comparison but more the other email that IMO, totally trivialised my feelings. In any case, I should be and I am over that by now. Cos I have news.

FIRSTLY, the Designing Memories June kit is up for sale now (has been available since 15 May). Claire and I guest-designed the kit for Katja Schneider, owner of Designing Memories. The kits are absolutely a breeze to work with, not to mention the price!!!! So go check out the website for options galore!!! These are the layouts I did with the kit....

SECONDLY, I have been selected to be on the Design Team for Blueye Dezines, a new Australian-owned designer/manufacturer. I will be working alongside some great talents, eg
Natasha Millard, Julie Love, and Ngaire Gilligan from Australia; Jill Cornell and Laura Solomon from USA, and Crystal Jeffrey Rieger from Canada. I "think" I am officially on a manufacturer's design team! :D :D YAY!!!!

OK... my cuppa tea is waiting for me.... there is something else I had wanted to blog about.. but I can't remember now. Another time.

Good Night!

Happy Mother's Day!!

2007-05-13T12:23:00.000+10:00

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!

I woke up this morning with 3 pressies. One from Ellen done at kinder, one from Phaedon also done at kinder (3yo), and one from my dear husband, Peter. Ellen did a drawing, Phaedon did a handprint-colouring-in with a poem, and another painting that has been framed, and a corrugated heart-shaped magnet, and Peter bought me a bottle of fragrance... Michael Kors' Island. I absolutely adore the bottle! Shame it's too heavy to go on a layout...

I have been busy scrapping this week. I am guest designing for Designing Memories' June kit. I have finished the layouts. Will post it when the kit goes online for sale.

I had an encounter with someone really nasty this week. I won't mention names here but I just wanted to share the story.

A kit club was looking for a designer to fill one of their spots. I wrote in to ask if they are still looking for someone, and if they think I was suitable, we could discuss further. The owner wrote back to say she has seen my work and think they are good, BUT she feels that my work is very similar to XXXX's, and then proceeded to ask me if I "feel" that we are similar. **insert dumb-founded emoticon** Then she asked if I would be too busy to do work for her because I am in the FK DT. And then offered me a 1-month trial.

Under any other circumstances, I think the 1-month trial is a great idea, and a perfect time for us to find out if this was what we both really wanted. However, I was concerned that she felt that my work is very similar to XXXX's. Scrapbooking in the online world IS in fact a very visual thing. Many times, you have to physically see the layout IRL to realise it's actually quite different. And this being an online kit club, she will only ever see my layouts via an image. What difference would it make if I told her "I don't FEEL that our work is similar"? You mean by me telling her that I don't feel that our work is similar, she'll believe me and will not ever think that again?

For me to work for someone, I find it very hard if you already have a perception of my style being similar to someone else's. I will constantly think about that, and worry about whether she thinks my work is once again similar to XXXX's. Even if I told you that our style is different, I seriously doubt it would change how you feel because it is how you feel.

So I wrote back and thanked her for the opportunity she wants to offer me. And said that I will find it hard to create freely without thinking what she's going to think of my work. And I also said that I wished she hadn't made that comparison out loud because from now on, I can't help but think about that everytime I scrap. It's like telling an artist... you paint like someone else, you act like someone else, you sing like someone else..... iykwim?

She wrote back. To sum it all up,
a) she is sorry that I took it as a criticism
b) I obviously feel very strongly about not wanting to be compared to XXXX (DUH!!) ... and that if I let it sit on the back of my mind, that is very unfortunate.
c) .... that my convictions in my own abilities and style should be stronger than this.....
d) ... that she has always been forward and honest.... and for me to take offence is honestly very silly
e) .... since we haven't connected in a good way, it wouldn't be a good idea for me to join her team

**insert more dumb-founded emoticons here**

I don't think she was sorry, at all. She just made me look and feel even smaller than before. Ok... I am normally a confident person but I'm probably not confident enough to ignore what people think of my work. I can take it if you feel that the embellishment didn't look right, or the paper / colour combination is weird, or this layout is not quite balanced... but telling it to my face that my work is similar to someone else's... is not what I call constructive criticism. Just made me rethink all this time, what have I been doing??? Just copying someone's style?

But once said, it's out there. I was hurt. And I felt even smaller with her reply. I now know that there is this breed of human beings out there, who has no qualms about hurting other's feelings, and don't even feel that they have done anything wrong, and that it is just the other person being silly. You can't just say things without processing your thoughts first. You may well be bullet-proof and don't give 2 hoots about mean comments. But you are just another human being. One day, someone will say something that hits your nerve and you'll be called the silly one because you took offence.

I've seen a lot of bitchiness going around in this scrapbooking community, but now I've experienced it first hand, and I didn't even ask for it. But I guess I did, I wanted to be on her DT. Just another ugly side of scrapbooking I've seen.

And for the record: No, I do not think my style is similar to XXXX's. There are only 2 things I have in common with XXXX ..... 1) We scrap great layouts 2) We are human beings with a good heart.