Stupid. Crazy. Awesome.

If you're here solely for crafty reasons, 

feel free to scroll down quickly to read the rest of my blog.

If you want to know just how crazy I am, 

stay. :) LOL.

• Twilight Ultra Challenge (TUC) - Probably the craziest thing I have ever done so far. 
• I mean, who decides to join a race, on a Saturday afternoon, after driving home from JB in the morning and just reorganized and refolded the entire wardrobe and changed the sheets, and oh, folded the the couch-full of laundry?
• Me, apparently. 
• And all this happened while Sam was mid-air. Making his way home from Brisbane. 
• And I have zero training - ha! The furthest I've walked before Saturday was 12.31km. You read right. I walked. I'm so not a runner!
• And on Saturday, I decided to grab the extra bib that was available from one of the Freedom Freaks brothers. This was at 4.30pm. Asree was so kind to help me liase with them. He did everything, I only had to pack my 'not-so-special-needs' bag and get myself to the starting point. He even offered me some energy gels which I declined because I never in my life, have taken them before and I didn't want to start on race day. :D
• Left the house at 5.30pm, and texted Sam in the cab. I remember thinking to myself- he will get the shock of his life when he lands in Singapore and gets this text. *I was right, btw. He was shocked beyond words! Ha!* Texted Asree as well to tell him I'm on my way. His reply was 'This is crazy, you know!' :D 

• I reached the main event site and went to look for Ben Swee to let him know that I will be walking his event using somebody else's bib. He was fine with it and reminded me to listen to my body. Yes sir! :) Mohan and Asree helped me 'change' the name on the bib using some masking tape and markers - so now I'm Sasha instead of Moktar. Perfect. LOL.
• Waited for the rest of the Freaks, and what else? :) Time for some photos before the flag off.

• Spot my mistake number one. Okay, that is wrong. Even thinking of joining TUC at the last last last minute was my mistake number one - then comes texting Asree to enquire about the bib - then confirming and packing for the run etc etc etc - so, spot my mistake number *I-really-can't-count-anymore*. Got it? 
• Yes - black top. While I don't think any other color would make a difference because the heat was almost unbearable for me. Despite running by the beach, there was no sweet, calming sea-breeze. You get bbq and cigarette smoke blown in your face instead. I don't think any other color will make noticeable difference anyway - except if I have a blue/white/red/yellow top with a built-in cool mist sprayer that sprays you maybe every 5 minutes. And oh, ice cubes in my sports bra. LOL.
• We were flagged off at 7.00pm. Merely 2.5hours after I decided I was gonna run this race. I surprised myself when I jogged *super slowly* for the first 15k or so. While I can't say the same for the public who walked 3/4 abreast and blocked the pathway or those who let their 3/4yr olds go zig and zag on bikes with training wheels/skateboards without supervision - I must admit the runners were AWESOME. Everyone was so encouraging and kind. 
• The best thing about being painfully slow at the back of the pack is that almost everyone is rooting for you. The faster runners u-turned and then they see me struggling and without fail, I will hear some 'feel good' words. That helps A LOT! Trust me, when you hear your friends shout "Go Sasha! Good pace, good pace, keep it up. Come on Sasha you can do this!" or as Mohan would say "Pinky shoes are cominnnnnggg!!" - you actually believe that you will not die on the pavement. LOL. Runners - sincerely, thank you for the high-fives and shouts and some of that 'never say die' spirit. 

• Photo above was taken during my break after 20k. If I look a little pale - that must be because I had to stop and pee at 18k. Peeing was okay - the public toilet was not. The smell hit me like a punch to the face, 30m before I reached the main door to the ladies. *shivers* I must admit, I gagged and peed at the same time because I have no other choice (didn't know that the organizers had porta potties available for runners - didn't look hard enough I guess). I got goosebumps even, because I really can't stand the awful smell.
• But look at those guys I call brothers. They were at their 25k break and still looking mighty fresh! I'm envious! :) Ashley gave me some chia-seed drink - you're too kind Ashley, thank you! This was where I had one banana, one slice of watermelon and half a piece of a granola bar. Was that enough? I have no idea. I was hungry but I can't bring myself to eat anything else. 
• Hunger and heat aside - blisters on the edges of my sports bra, waist band and anti-slip hems on the pants were really painful. Another mistake - maybe if I'd have taken the time to get the vaseline from my 'not-so-special-needs' bag and apply some on them I could have prevented them from getting worse.

• Then I walked another painful 5k and met up with the guys again at the rest area. By then, my back felt like I was about to give birth and my right knee felt like it was about to fall off. Ha! I'm pretty sure I'm exaggerating but hey, my body is not used to this kind of torture! :D
• Sam + my girls came while I was resting at 25k. He asked if I was okay, I told him let me try walk for another 5k and I will let him know. So I went on what felt like the longest 5k in my life. I passed by friends who said "Come on Sasha, Sam and your girls are waiting for you!" but I just can't go any faster. If I thought rolling on the pavement was possible and will lessen the pain, I would have rolled my way to the pit stop.

• After what seemed like forever, I'm back at the tent again. Checked in with the volunteers for the last time and did the 'throat slashing' sign to Yee Hua to let her know I'm done. Done done done.

10k - 1hr 31mins
20k - 3hr 15mins
30k - 5hr 30mins 

• Could have better timing if my big butt didn't want to sit at every rest area. LOL. In my heart of hearts, I believe this was meant to be. You see, in my family, we consider 23 to be 'our number' for so many reasons (a whole new blog post that I won't bore you with). I said yes to the bib, without knowing that I will have 'our number' with me all through the race. When I collected the bib and saw 23 - that was when my heart said "Let's do this!"
• My heartfelt thanks to my Freedom Freaks family, every single one of the runners at TUC, Ben Swee, Yee Hua and every single one of the volunteers. You guys rock my world. I love you :)
• Thank you to my darling Sam who practically had to carry me home at 1.10am, even when he had to wake up at 4am for his 2XU 21k this morning, and of course my sweet girls who came to the beach with daddy in the middle of the night to support the insane mommy.
• I went with zero training, zero mileage. It was stupid. It was crazy. It was definitely awesome. Will I do this again? Perhaps. I've learnt to never say never.

Photo credits : Alexander Asree and Yee Hua.

xoxo

Spencer's. The Layouts.

• I need more time to play with this kit, don't you think so? :) 4 layouts are NOT enough! I hope to do better next month - March was so much fun with the trip to Seoul and Sam's new Personal Best timing for full marathon, but bring it on April. I miss scrapbooking. :D
• Make sure you don't miss the new and fabulous SC 12x12 Woodgrain paper and SC 12x12 Grid paper add on and the Today Noted stamp set that is so versatile designed by Natalia!
• p/s : you can click on the titles to bring you to my gallery at SC to see what else I use on that particular layout :)

So Much Awesomeness

'Awesome' gotta be Nidhi's favorite word when telling me stories about her camping experience with teachers and friends. :) Awesome this, awesome that - what better way than to capture everything on a single page?

That photo was taken while we waited for lunch after I picked her up from school. Non-stop chatter for probably 3 hours before she fell asleep mid-sentence. LOL :)

Those speech bubbles are perfect for what I have in mind as they were not allowed to bring along their cameras/mobile phones = no pictures.

Right Here

I think I have a new love - that Orange Peel Texture from the Main Kit! :)

This page is super bright in real life, but that's how we roll :) My crazy loud family, wouldn't have it any other way. I used the V shape mask from SC Here & There collection + Garden Mister Huey for the background and started layering from there.

I stitched a white outline the heart on the tag - little details like that make me happy.

The part I love most? The stamped 'hearts+right here' near the bottom of the page. I think that is so sweet.

Today Noted

I had so much fun getting this page ready - the misting part is the best :) But then again, I am so in love with Mister Huey it's ridiculous! LOL.

Not all the colors are in the store right now, but I used these colors for the ombre effect --> Buttercup, Taxi, Sunshine, Desert and Orchard. Start with the lightest.

The journaling for this page is a little bit too personal for me to share here, but it's there on the tag behind the photo. Basically about my 'get healthy' goal this year :)

Randomness

The Kraft Circles paper was made for me, don't you think? :) I know, I know the photo is so small, but in this case, I want the 'True Story' circle to shine! :)

Went a little bit monochromatic here - kraft background, kraft circles, cork cameras - i love how they look together. The stitching was done using bright pink and green thread but because they were so close to the edge, they have this 'peek-a-boo' effect which is, to me, adorable :)

xoxo

XOXO

• Do I love butterflies? You tell me :)

• As you can see, I'm really into photo circles lately. A little bit old school for some of you, but I love it! :D 
• Butterflies, butterflies, and more butterflies. I think everyone around me knows how much I love them. Case in point - I have butterflies in my hair for my wedding photos!
  I punched out several sizes of butterflies from vellum to scatter around the layout. Really loving the barely there effect. I think vellum butterflies are stunning! I stitched the background first, filled some spots with patterned paper and started layering from there. Butterflies can never get old for this girl!
  How many collections can you spot on this layout? I had so much fun mixing and matching Crate Paper goodies, old and new. There's much to be admired and the collections blend so well together. Look closely to find out what I included on the layout. 
• I have to go now, I know, so unlike me to ramble to the middle of next week and back. We just got home from Seoul and I still need to settle into a routine and somehow manage that 17 loads of laundry. Ha! I'll be back soon!

xoxo

Today I am Enough

• I'm sure you don't say that often. Yes you! You, my friends out there. And why is that? Why are we forever pushing and punishing ourselves? I'm not talking about a little self-critic, or a sprinkle of self-doubt. I'm talking about belittling ourselves, day in and day out. I'm talking about those voices in OUR head that don't even like us. What's up with that? 
• Am I the only one feeling this way? Am I the only crazy one out here? I hope not. Ha!
• Whatever gets done for today is enough for me, or at least that's what I'm trying to tell myself. Today I am enough, for me and my family. We'll be okay. 

• Had so much fun with Mister Huey as you can see. I used Bazinga, Buttercup and Hot Diggity together. Snippets Die Cut Frames - cannot get enough of them! Such beautiful colors too! Another possible addiction is the SunDrifter Wood Veneer Shapes - *sigh* they're like neutral sequins, ykwim? So pretty.
• I'm uploaded this layout to my Studio Calico gallery - feel free to check it out over there to see the supply list. :) 

Today I am Enough, I hope you are too.

xoxo