I am a broken record

but yes, my puter is dead. Again. I know. His last death was in July, and now he's dead again. How annoying. And I feel like this. . .



I mean, seriously? Enough already. *sob*sob*sob* The 3 year warranty is still valid though, so off he went with the IT guy. Yes. Again. *yikes* I am now on our 9yrs old machine. Slow, Photoshop®-less, slow, with the inability to multitask and did I mention slow? *grins* Nope, not complaining, just stating the facts. So thankful for this old guy though. Thankful, you heard that old guy? Don't you dare die on me. :)

I've been scrapping. I swear. I just have no pictures for you. But I have this to share. Gorgeousness that is Studio Calico.



Carry on, get them all. You know you want to :)




And just look at this sweet deal :) Studio Calico has restocked some of the most popular stamps! The Months Stamps set is my absolute favorite! A must have!



And jump right in for the Reveal night chat! Yummylicious giveaway from Pixie Petals!

Oh the kit is so delish! I am not contributing to the gallery just yet, due to my Malaysia-Singapore-Australia-Malaysia crazy travelling schedule this month, but you just don't wanna miss the reveal night. The other girls have done a fab job, just see for yourself!

Before I go lying face down on the sofa, feeling very sorry for my 'puter'less self, I leave you with a photo of my sister, Nish and my parents on her wedding day. Such a beautiful bride she was, but of course, she has the good fortune of being my sister. Heh.



See you soon
xoxo

A little toot. . .

I want to jump up and down and dance around the house, maybe celebrate with my kids at Starbucks (just an excuse, really, LOL), but right now, I have a stiff neck. Yes, I resemble a robot, with curves, or rather fat folds, when I have to turn my whole body everytime I wanna turn my head.

So the jumping and dancing and drinking will have to wait :) but Oh-MY-GOD, I am so excited I could burst! LOL. Thank you April and Studio Calico for the invitation. Thank you Thank you Thank you!!

And thank you to each and everyone of you out there too, for the inspirations, encouragements, kind words, kick-in-the butt-s, emails, lovely comments and love.

xoxo

When you should not be scrapping

that's when you really, and I mean, drop-dead-seriously kinda really, really wanna scrap. Yes. I know that now. Speaking from experience. This is not the first time too. *sigh* What's a girl to do? :)

So I ignored the suitcase-packing for the Gold Coast trip, that I was supposed to do and scrapped. Mighty happy that made me too! *grins* Maybe I'll resume packing after this post, maybe I'd rather go to bed and snuggle with Nidhi who is already fast asleep. Maybe I'll just play that toss-whatever-is-in-the-pile-of-laundered-clothes game, two hours before departure. LOL. Or maybe, I'll let the girls pack their own clothes. Should be fun!

The sweet people over at Studio Calico sent me yumminess from their HomeFront Collection to play with. A total surprise, really. Since they didn't even email me before. My heart skipped a beat when I opened that box because part of me thinking 'oh shoot, what an unfortunate shipping mistake. lovely goodies, but not mine :(' because I didn't order papers and bellies. I ordered some stamps and was expecting my stamps in that box. The other part of me, anyway, thought ' well, let's email them and ask. I might just be the intended recipient! (well, a girl can dream - i told myself)

*insert heart thumping, suspense music here*

Then Lorie replied! She said those are for me! Me! Me! Me! I thought my face would crack with all the smiling I was doing that day! Thank you Studio Calico! (even though thank you doesn't seem enough)

Rambling over, I think. Now on to my layout :)



c23 - She's my friend. My special friend. :) Hope she likes this one.



SC stamps - Schooltime ABC Border and Mini Picture Frame, HomeFront letter stickers, Kaiser Pearls.



Just for the record, I adore that boy on the bicycle. ADORE. Okay? :) Basic Grey Rub Ons.

SC - Nadiya alpha stamps, embossed with American Crafts ZING! in Wave. Photo mat is Hambly Mod Circles in Brown.



Just full frontal view of my most favorite part of the layout because I'm cool like that. *grins* (like real, eh?) LOL.

So we'll be getting a new family member this Saturday. Spanking new brother-in-law. They (my mom and sister) put me in charge of the wedding cake. *gasps* I am freakin' out, big time. No, I'm not gonna bake the damn cake. LOL. I wouldn't dare to. We ordered plain-2 tiered Chocolate Indulgence and I need to dress it up. So tempted to just cover the cake with pretty papers. LOL. I know I'm gonna go with simple and classy. Wish me luck!

xoxo

So I deserve to be shot?

I really, really wanted to keep to my words. Really wanted to draw a winner for the giveaway on the day I said I would. But I didn't. Life got in the way. I apologize. :)

But here I am, 3 days late. *grins* Here I am :) I decided to ask Neha for a 'lucky number' based on the quantity of comments on the last post. (with a promise that next giveaway, Nidhi will get to choose the lucky number) She said - 36 :) So please wait here patiently while I count my way to comment #36! (might take a while though, since numbers and me, we don't really get along well. heh)

Elaine! You're lucky #36! Congrats!! Email me, okay!

Time to share another layout :)



Why twenteen? Because she is my youngest sister, and she loves the 'teen' behind her age so much, even when she is now twenty :) Then Mr Husband started saying "Happy Twenteen-th Birthday"!! LOL!



Butterfly stamped with Shimmerz in Magenta. Urmm.. what can I say.. but YUMMO! I love the texture and glitz of the end product! Totally gonna be stamping a lot more with my loot of Shimmerz! *so giddy now, maybe I should stamp my wall, shimmerz-ed butterflies on my wall... *sigh*



Ampersand chipboard - Making Memories. Happy - Chatterbox. Twenteen - Fontwerks stamps on Bo Bunny paper.

Yup, that's about it, scrappy-wise.

School for this year, ends tomorrow. And I plan to just sit there, at the poolside, do nothing but dream for a bit, before the madness of December begins. I need that, really.

And oh, I love you, please don't shoot me? :)

xoxo

Freestyle Friday and a giveaway

* yes, freestyle again. Because apparently, my brain is fried, overcooked even right this moment, thanks to the humongous headache that has taken residence for the past two days. (I love using the word humongous! It may be my 'word of the month'!)

* I turned 31 last week. Loads of well wishes on FB, text messages and emails. Thank you guys! I spent the day with good girlfriends and my family. Happiness.



* Butterfly cheesecake, specially made by Audrey for me. Thank you Audrey! *hugs*



* Assam Laksa - a spicy, sour-ish noodle with fish gravy - dish. I promise you it's yummy. Had that for birthday breakfast.

* I have stopped counting the days until my sister gets married. I figured there is no use of me getting all nervous and fidgety. LOL.

* The time is now 9.32pm. I have been thinking about going to bed since 3.30pm. Yet, here I am.

* Mr Husband bought me a running tights. I wore that to gym one day and someone there complimented that I lost weight. I smiled. Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it isn't there. I am talking about my soft midsection being held inside by the wonderful tights. LOL.

* I *heart* you, so I'll stop rambling and get on with the giveaway, okay? Okay.

I'm sure you have heard about Pixie Petals before, right? Hop on over if you haven't! She has an awesome mix of bellies and tags and most adorable crocheted flowers! The sweet girl sent me some mix of her stuff and guess what? You'll have a chance to get some too. Read on, I'll tell you how. . . :)



Something familiar? I used the lace cardstock as a mask for a layout before.





Love love love love love those gorgeousness. Makes me wanna learn to crochet too, but why bother when I can have them made for me? Right?!!

So do you wanna get your hot little hands on more than the flowers and tag I used on my layout? Yes? :) Just tell me you love me leave me a comment on this post and I'll draw the names next Tuesday. That should give you plenty of time, eh? :)

* If you can read the journaling on the layout, they're not the only ones who does the shrieking. I shriek my fair share too. I hope they still love me :)

* I took 1 hour and 7 minutes to complete this post. Not bad considering I usually take 5 days and then some. *grins*

xoxo :)

Lesson for today. . .

well, for me at least. Do not ever bother with make-up when you're going to the gym, because at the end of it, you're a freakin' meltin' hot mess anyway.

Just so you know, I am not a gym person, I do my thing outdoor, at the park, by the beach. But today, I actually gave in and stepped into the gym. Was pretty intimidated at first, but after a while.. oh well, I don't really care about other people anyway. I must say it's pretty nice working out with the view of the swimming pool and planes taking off and landing in front of you. Even though I really can only see the planes due to my shortage of tallness. Ha-Ha. I was pretty much the same height as the treadmill control buttons! Talk about intimidating!

I am still not a gym person as of now, but I think I can learn to love it. Let's move on to prettier topic, shall we?

A little while ago, the gorgeous Jeni Boisvert sent me some Shimmerz to play with! How sweet is that? Thank you Jeni.



I am not good with whites, I noticed. But I love that look, so Hambly to the rescue :) Orange overlay + white cardstock = pure deliciousness. Then, because the base is white, I went to town and added about a trillion other colors. Yes, I am an exaggerator :)



DYMO goodness + crackle paint + embroidery thread.



Close up of the gorgeous butterflies, I used Heidi Swapp mask and Shimmerz in Mango Madness! How cute is that name??!! Then outlined with Stickles in Star Dust. I really wish you can see this in real life because those Shimmerz, the end product is really this awesome, glossy perfection!



Making Memories brads + more embroidery thread + green felt ric-rac + Jenni Bowlin sticker. and Oh! Hambly Rub ons! Love that pop of hot pink, matches my DYMO refill :D

I don't know about you, but all the colors here. . . is making me giddy with excitement! LOL. And I really, really hope our LSS will bring Shimmerz into Singapore really, really soon. Boy, I need a COMPLETE collection and then some if you ask me! (just don't let Mr Husband know about this, okay? Okay.)

When you have more dream than sense in your head

it could be a beautiful thing, don't you think? In your head, everything is possible. In there, you're everything and everything is you.

Right now, I'm dreaming about a trip to the beach. Preferably the one in my layout below, but I'm not fussy, any beach in Phuket/Koh Samui/Bora Bora/Bali will do. *Mr. Husband, are you reading this? LOL*



Love the look of the silver hanging heliconias against white cardstock. It has got that airy feel without looking too bare, me thinks.

Red misted butterfly = Scenic Route chipboard. Just so you know, I misted it like one year ago. LOL. Was meant to go on another layout back then, but decided against it at the last minute.



Prima, gorgeous swirls. Cut apart and re-assembled 'my freestyle' way, suits the butterfly better IMO.



Black Glitz Netz, painted with Broken china crackle paint. Love it when some pieces fall off the netz, giving it the "I'm weathered but absolutely fabulous" look. *grins*



Shipping tags, misted, stamped, inked = the works.

That stays a dream, though. The girls are busy preparing for their coming Final Exams, which means mommy is nowhere near a beach as well. Heh. We, yes, all three of us have been studying. Not that mommy is of much help with the Maths especially. LOL. Me and numbers, we hate dislike each other. Thank God for answer sheets!!

Last night, both girls slept in my bed. That means I hardly get any sleep myself. All that squirming and tugging and pushing, too much for me. LOL. I need a nap now!

I'll be blog hopping later today, so I'll see you soon, yes?

xoxo :)

Freestyle randomness

* Thank you so very much for your kind words and encouragements for my last post. You guys are the BEST! THE BEST!

* I registered for Run For Hope. Yay me, even if I'm gonna crawl or walk at the most! Only problem, I realized I entered "Male" at the gender column. Urmm...

* Nidhi was at a birthday party earlier today, and guess what is the conversation about tonight in my house? Yes, magician, pinata, chocolate cake and other party games. *smiles*

* I was at the salon to get my eyebrows shaped and Neha wanted to do the same. I said No. (and in my heart, I said, Please give me at least 12 years notice before you start shaping your eyebrows) LOL.

* Some little girls discovered how cool is my DYMO at precisely 1915hrs today. Time to hide the refill tapes. Heh!

* I have a layout, on my table. It has been there for the past 7 days. Unfinished.

* We need to make a trip to the zoo. The girls are missing their 'friends' there :)

* Off late, ideas for creative things, almost always come when I'm driving on the expressway. And they went *poof* as soon as I entered the slip road and hit a red light. Nice.

* 1 month, 2 weeks and 5 days to my sister's wedding. Feels weird saying that. First wedding in the family, that is not mine.

* I have been stalking etsy like there is no tomorrow. Bad for my paypal, good for my soul.

* Sometimes, when people who don't know me all that well, people outside the family, outside my home, starts lecturing me about my way of life and thinking, I just let it slide and go. Why? Because they're just not worth. *smiles*

* I love you.



Mr Husband :)

Masked and misted the background coz I thought the lace cardstock was too 'loud' for my layout.



Punched the star from a piece of cork. Velvet brad - MM :) Hambly rub on. Heidi Swapp blings.



Hambly overlay, rub on and HS blings again. Autumn Leaves star stamp. I have no idea who made that chipboard label holder, Heidi Grace? it was just in a pile in a basket on my table, you get the idea? :)



MM clip to hide his runner's bib. I had to clip it there, because he left it on my table and it has been there ever since. That's the only way to get rid of it, since throwing is out of the question. LOL.

* The kids are getting some tv time today and I have the voice of Spongebob in my head. Thank you kids :)

* You're still here? I love you. See you soon!

~xoxo~

So the cat is out of the bag :)

Roughly one year ago, I was presented with an awesome opportunity. Couldn't believe it at that time, but grateful all the same. Thank you Liz, Beth and CK :) Now I can't wait to get the book in my chubby hands!

There will be a 52 challenges group, blinkies and a possible party at Liz's blog! Stalk her, okay? LOL.

Now, I don't do cats, in real life, really. I am squeamish and will avoid living, furry creatures. Cats, hamsters, dogs, rabbits and the likes (terrified of dogs, super terrified, was chased by one small black, fierce dog when I was 10!). Mind you, I find them cute when they're at least 15 feet away - 45 feet if it's a dog, though.

That paragraph up there, is just for the record, you know? LOL. Just in case some little girls managed to trick their daddy into buying them some furry animals as pets. Just sayin'. . I am not goin' anywhere near it!

Right, now let's share something :) I just adore the 'krafty' color of JilliBean papers. So oh so yummy! And I really wanna use the beautiful set of "Butterflies of The World" playing cards I got sometime ago :)



There has never been a day when I have not been proud of you, though some days I'm louder about other stuff so it's easy to miss that.

I got those words from StoryPeople.com . I subscribe to them and very so often, the stories touched something deep inside. Something I can totally relate to. And when i got this story a while ago, I thought of Neha. Neha, my beautiful pride. She is my eldest and it's easy to forget that she is only 9 sometimes.

I think I'm a great mom (you already know that, don't you?*grins*), but a loud one too. Loud about other things like homeworks, cleaning up your room, stop bugging your sister, eat what is served. . you know, things like that! LOL. I need to be loud in telling them I am so very proud to be the one they call mommy :)

The layout pic, you can actually see Neha scooting in the background. I didn't crop that out on purpose! *grins*



Shipping tag, Scarlet Lime stamp, clear embossing powder, Tim Holtz fired brick distress ink, MM clip, velvet paper (can't remember who made that, sorry... been in my stash for at least 2 years). Beautiful - Autumn Leaves stamp, vinyl thickers. Thread.



Prima flower, distress and normal stickles. Hambly teal brocade love.



Jenni Bowlin ticket, Heide Swapp blings, MM Brad, that velvet paper again, backing paper of the BINGO card from Jenni Bowlin. I cut them out and used a few across the page. Too cute to ignore the packaging, besides the tiny size is perfect for this page.



Prima swirls, Label Tulip stamp, Jenni Bowlin and velvet paper (again, I know, LOL). The white and green felt flower is actually a MM Paperclip, I took it apart and only used the flower part, tossed the actual clip into my drawer. I'm sure I will find a use for it later.

I'll see you soon!
xoxo :)

Short and hopefully sweet. . .

I am swamped.
But very happy.
Busy.
But content.
Running around, looking for more hours in the day.
But calm (that is possible, ask me - heh)

Today, I babysat thirty, seven year olds for 4 hours.
(yes friends, 30, seven year olds ;))
Such sweethearts.
Gonna do it again in a heartbeat.

Tomorrow, Mr Husband is gonna be home from Perth.
She is coming to stay for the weekend.

Saturday, I'm having some lovely people over.
Can't wait.
CAN'T WAIT!

In the meantime, I'm leaving you with these tags. They were for Laine's Make n Take session, way back in July. I just haven't shared them here.







I will fly the world for you.
Yes I will. Just lemme get my wings from the back of the wardrobe ;)

xoxo :)

Not very short, I know :)

Hi. . . I'm awesome

How about you? Don't you love the confidence some kids have?

Nidhi once said, after getting some candy/stickers (mommy's old brain can't remember, sorry) from a salesgirl we encountered on one of our shopping trip, or was it one of Neha's friend? Seriously, it's something like that/around there. She said " oh I know why she gave me the stickers/candy. . .because I'm very cute!" Hah! Don't you just love that?

Of course Neha, my lovely sweet Neha (and daddy and me too, secretly) will snort and start teasing her. And no tease is complete until one of them have tears rolling down the cheeks. LOL.

And oh, I must share this! In a couple of hours, Neha will be promoted from Tweenie to Brownie (such cute names!) *please insert huge proud mommy grins here*. I was a Girl Guide when I was her age, back in my homeland :) Yay Neha! WTG Girl!



Greetings from Paradise
Mine is wherever you are

It's amazing how three people become my whole world. Of course, we're a little crazy but that's how we roll. :)



White on white. Love. Running out of Dymo tape. Not good. Hambly buttery rub-on. Sweet.



Stampers Anonymous. Note to self *must stamp more*. Paper roses from the wedding stuffs shop. Superb. Organza ribbon I found while digging in the drawer. FYI, I spent an hour tying that damn bow! LOL.

All in all, I achieved the look I want for this layout, me thinks!

Thank you for your visits, your kind words, your encouragements. I must say, I appreciate them all very much. Thank you :)

*hugs*

Then I said goodbye. . .

Yes I did :) I decided not to accept the offer to extend the Design Team contract with Hambly. No drama at all, I just need to be somewhat dateline-free for a while. It was a hard one, that decision. If you were on my facebook you probably would have noticed some status updates sung in this tune. Thank you for the kind words, you know who you are :)

I've enjoyed my term with Hambly tremendously and I am still in love with each and everyone of the girl there. The talent and sweetness they have over there is amazing and I am very grateful to be amongst them for the past one year. I know my love affair with Hambly is not about to end so easily, so yes, you'll still be seeing Hambly goodness here on the blog.

Be4 i 4get ~ a layout :)



Do you remember those photos? I just wanna remember how happy she was there on his shoulders. *speaking of which, she is now on my lap, hugging me with all four limbs. it's incredibly warm (86°F as we speak) to be sitting this way while blogging, but LOL.. I'll take what I can get.* She is still at the super cuddly stage, so guess I'm lucky.



Did this while my puter was down a while ago, thus the handwritten journaling. *shivers* i am still learning to love my handwriting :)



My favorite part.. the clear bubbles. They're actually cheap (SGD1.50 per pack) stickers for mobile phone. I used about half a pack for this layout.



And the title, Brown Hambly Vintage Banners rub on, on white. Then I misted it with some of my favorite colors :)

*sigh* I love this layout very very much. Must be those photos. I can almost hear them laugh. :)

I'll be blog hopping after my evening shower, so I'll see you soon!!

*hugs*

And I tell myself. . . it's okay

Have you been to Point. Blank. Period? Have you seen the first prompt? Are you having ideas for a fun, scrappy afternoon/evening, swimming in your head already? *grins*

I would have posted this sooner, like as soon as the prompt is up over there, but I was out shopping for Eid with the fams. 4 odd hours to get one outfit for each of us. 1 hour per person, quite a feat I say. LOL.

Here's my take for PBP this month. Sorry for the bad photo. I will try and replace with a better one if we get decent weather which collaborates with my unlazy days. :D

New, yummy Hambly. That lime green just rocks my world.



It's okay to feel tired.
It's okat to fail baking 'the' chocolate cake for the 47th time.
It's okay to be different.
It's okay to be the one needing to be taken care of.
It's okay to be nervous.
It's okay to get someone to babysit just so you could read the novel in peace.
It's okay to cry when it all gets too much to handle.
It's okay to let the laundry sit in that mountain for one more night.
It's okay not to eat the kids' leftovers.
It's okay to go for a nice meal even when the kids are not around.
It's okay to be socially awkward.
It's okay to put yourself first.
It's okay to fight for that window seat.
It's okay to dance instead of ironing the uniforms.
It's okay to watch that one episode of CSI NY over and over again,
just to hear him call "Ella!Ella!"
It's okay to buy a 'bye-bye back fat' bra.
It's okay to be just a mom, and not a super one at that.



The flowers are not acid free. Got them at the wedding stuffs shop (I have a very good reason to be wandering there, my sister is getting married, remember? *grins). I got myself a few colors. Yummo. And yeah, I don't worry too much about acid free and stuffs. As long as it's pretty and makes me happy.. it's goin' on my page when the time is right.



This I showed you before.

Tags were sprayed with Passion Red and Daffodil Glimmer Mists. Then stamped with Stampin' Up polka dot background, embossed with ZING by American Crafts in Wave. Some random bits of lacey ribbon made its way there as well.

* That pretty girl on there, obviously not me. I cut that up from the tag of my 'bye-bye back fat' bra. Although as far as I can see, she has no fat whatsoever, they should have me on that tag considering the amount of back fat I have to say bye-bye to.

* I think Gary Sinise as Mac Taylor in CSI NY is hot. I don't know about him in real life or other movies/tv production, and I don't really care. LOL.

* The crying when it gets too much to handle part, happens on average of once a month? Yeah, about that.

* You already know I fight for the window seat. LOL.

* My laundry, uhmm... still in that mountain. :D

Don't forget to visit the DT Gallery here and be prepared to be blown away. Seriously, the divas are on fire!

xoxo. . .