Me, myself and I

There's no layouts, no altered art, no nothing today. I just wanna de-stress and grumble on my blog. I mean, its not like THE blog where the whole world reads about me. So I guess its safe to grumble...... (Coz a fren of mine nearly got sued by the sister in law for grumbling about the mother in law....jeez...)
I am deleting and deleting what I type. This is the fourth time I'm "throwing" my post into the bin. I really dont know where to start. Most of my headaches and troubles are the results of decisions that I've made and I'm not happy that I've made these decisions. But how do I get out of it? I really dont know if I've made the correct decisions and whether I can get out of the situation I'm in if the decision I've made is really wrong.
But do we always make the correct decisions? What happens when whatever we've decided turns out to be wrong? How come I keep making the wrong choices my whole life? Is it me? Do I have a problem making decisions? Why did a seemingly good idea become bad? Have I been misled or did I mislead myself? Am I delusional? All the questions and no apparent answers.
I like a carefree life. Some call it lazy life. I dont see anything wrong with it. I am not the kind to make big bucks or climb coporate ladders. I dont like to work very hard. I work because I have to, not because I like to. Lazy? Yeap, for sure. But I'm happy. But now, I am facing a crisis. I cant get out of the work that I have to do because I promised I'd do it. But I was not shown the whole picture of what I had to do. I am capable of doing it. I just dont want to. Dilemma, is what I'm in right now. Getting out, is what I'd like right now.
Sigh..........

I got it! I got it! I got it!!!!

I cant believe I managed to buy it at last!!!! Arghhhh! No words can express my utter joy and satisfaction at having bought the current love of my life! Yipee!

Here's the story......

I called a certain LSS and asked the staff to reserve it for me. They told me (without checking) that it was already OOS. I was extremely disappointed. If they had bothered to check and reserved it for me, I'd have bought it from them ages ago. So, I waited and hoped that the other LSS would bring it in. I called and check too. This time, because it was my favourite LSS, the staff there knew me and was willing to check their stock, their warehouse and their shipping list to see if it was on the way here. Unfortunately, they were unable to find it in the warehouse but were quite sure it was on its way here, just not sure when. So I waited patiently. Finally, I could not wait anymore and decided to go down and make use of their excellent discount vouchers of up to 40%!! And to cut the long story short, when I was there, the goods actually arrived at the store!!! I hopped up and down and squeaked (Sharon said I was squeaking alot that day!) myself hoarse! The new arrivals included my Amy Butler Tote!!! I nearly died from happiness! It was so 'fresh' that it was warm. I chose pink finally (and a whole lot of new stuff too!) So, here's my Amy Butler Tote all lovingly filled up with my SB tools and stuff.

And the best thing? I paid for the tote with a whooping 40% discount!! And if the other LSS had been willing to check and reserve for me, I'd have bought it for only a 25% discount using my friend's card. So I guess it was fated that I get the tote from my favourite LSS at that fantastic discount.

Look what came in the mail!

I actually received this package some time back. Was ecstatically cutting up the tape on the box to reveal the goodies in it and then was too engrossed with it (and of course the other stuff in my life). Finally, 2 weeks later, I managed to find time to post this and thank the sponsers, Indigo Mill, for their prize!
It was a whole lot of die cut papers by Rhonna Farrer, DCWV, KI Memories. I just could not stop gazing at the lovely papers!

Amy Butler's Tool Tote

Don't you just looooove this bag??!! The 1st time I saw this, I knew I gotta have it! I don't usually fall in love with stuff like that, but this tote just called out to me, ya know what 'cha mean?
So, I called up our LSS and made enquiries. Imagine my disappointment when one said they didnt bring in this bag and the other said it was SOLD OUT!!! Arghhhhhh!!!!
Now, I need to figure out how to get my greedy hands onto this lovely lovely creation by Amy Butler!
Anyone wanna sell??!! Hee hee!

2 sketches defined for Rough Draft

Sketch 2

Sketch 4

I've been madly running around recently and although I did the sketches some time ago, I didnt manage to take photos of it till now. So here's Sketch 2 and 4 for Rough Draft.

Sunshine after the rain

It's been some time since I last posted anything. Little Bri has been so sick the whole of last week. One of the nights, we very nearly had to send the poor babe to hospital! She's been coughing and sneezing the whole of last week and the climax was during the weekend. She was constantly coughing, sneezing, vomiting, crying. In that order. I didnt sleep from Thursday to Sunday! Luckily, she took a turn for the better and managed to sleep through on Sunday night. So here I am, on a chirpy Monday morning, with the whole world right again cos I managed to get my full night's rest at last!
When a child falls sick, especially a very young one, everyone is so concerned and worried about the child. Fussing over the child, making sure the child is alright, comfortable, etc. We often forget that it is the caregiver, usually the mother, who is also in need of some care and comfort. Especially when it is a long drawn out illness. I am lucky (in a sense) that Bri was sick for a short period of time. Even the few days of stress was enough to make me feel like hell. I can only imagine how bad it must be for the parents of children who have long drawn illness requiring constant care. Not only do they have to endure physical stress, the emotional upheaval they go through is even more difficult for them, I believe.
So, every morning, I will give thanks that I can still wake up and see the beautiful sky, smell the fresh morning air, listen to the traffic sounds outside, feel the mild heat of the morning sun.
I've got a wonderfully supportive husband and family, 2 gorgeous healthy children, a stable and happy family.... What more do I wish for? I know now that life is not about wishing for things that others have, but what we ourselves have worked for and achieved on our own. There is no need to want to be like anyone else but ourselves and that will be what will make us the happiest!
Wishing everyone the best for the week ahead!

Seven Random Facts about ...... what?

Got tagged by Cloudsters. He's the funniest and most amusing writer ever! I mean, each time I read his blog, I just collaspe in laughter. Either that, or I'm snickering to myself and having to explain to hubby why I'm sniggering to the computer screen! So, he just tagged me on a random fact thing and I thought it was fun to play even though I'm not so sure I've got seven people to tag! Hahaha! So here goes 7 random/weird facts about myself. (more weird than random I believe!)

1) I am an absolute anal person when it comes to personal belongings. I cannot stand my stuff dirty, being out of place, dirty, off center or dirty. You get the drift huh?!

2) I hate garlic. Period. Anthing with garlic in it, I wont touch. I wont even touch the bulb itself. It's like I'm a vampire or something. If I accidentally injest some, it'll burn it's way down my throat and into my guts and I'll feel like puking.

3) I can't stand the colour purple. Nothing in my possession is of that colour. It's like I've got an aversion to it. Just like garlic, I shudder when I have to touch anything with that colour. (anal right?!)

4) I've got 2 seperate sets of nails on my last toe. Hee hee! Gross fact! Well, anyway, my mother in law told me that it's cos I'm Hakka. All Hakkas (according to her) have this two-nail-on-one-toe thingy. And the weirdest fact of all..... my hubby has this weird toe nail too! (His great great great somebody is Hakka. Again according to my MIL)

5) I've got a habit of reading through all my SMSs before I send them out. I reread them for content as well as grammatical errors. Hahaha! Another anal fact! Actually not just SMSs. I reread all my blog posts at least twice before hitting the publish post key. I also reread forum posts, emails, and whatever else I happen to be typing! (And still, there's mistakes! Arghhhh!!)

6) I love to drive in the rain. The heavier the rain, the more thrill I get out of it! I simply love rainy weather. I love the gray overcast skies, the incessant pattering of rain, the smell of ions in the air, the fresh scent of world when it rains. I just love the rain!

7) I can cook! Serious! I am a very good chef. I love to do western food. I can cook anything and it'll taste good. I've got the knack for cooking I think. When I season my food, I dont measure out quantities nor do I have to figure out what food "goes" with what seasoning. I just go with gut instincts and plonk the stuff together and whatever the end results, it's always tasty!

Alrighty! I've done 7 weird/random facts about myself! Hope you've enjoyed reading them as much as I've written them. This has actually made me more aware of myself! Hmmmm.... maybe I should go on further and list even more facts about myself!

I've tagged the following 7 people. Feel free to carry on this game or just enjoy the random facts of others! Thankx for visiting! Have a great weekend!

1) Louisa

2) Jaz

3) Ed

4) June

5) Jemma
6) Yin

7) Sharon

Phew!!!!!!!!!! Finally!!!!!!!!!!! I never knew there was so much "work"involved in tagging others! It sure was not easy finding others to tag. This just proves how little blogging friends I have! Must go out and source more!! Hahahaha! Hope you lovely people get some perverse fun reading my weird facts! Cos I definately had my own perverse fun writing it!

Here's one for Ed's Sketch Got Stamp?

What a cute title!! Got stamp? was added later cos Ed decided to up the difficulty factor of the challenge. So here's my take on Ed's October challenge.

Another day, another thought.

Recently, I keep getting hit by headlines on the ST saying we're in recession, people are saving money on food, non essential items are 1st to go.... so on and so forth. What do people consider luxury items? What then, becomes a need and what then, becomes a want?
So what should I be doing to help cut costs? Buy less scrap stuff, that would be the obvious one. Hahaha! We're not stinking, filthy rich (though hubby says he can be stinking and filthy!) but neither are we in the pits. We're not above average, but then again, we're not below average. People like us in the "neither here nor there" situation can find it hard to cope at times. We have a car, so does that put us in the rich catergory? No. We have to pay for rising petrol costs, but yet cant sell the car because we have young kids to ferry to and fro schools and classes and we go to work. We live in a 5 room flat, so does that put us in the above average catergory? Again, no. We are working out b**ts off so that HDB can deduct $**** from our account every month. We eat out fairly often, so does that make us yuppies? No. Most times, I'm too tired from work and looking after the baby to cook.
Then how? I ask myself? How to make our dollars stretch in these lean times? We really have to save for the kids, rainy day, ageing parents. I, too, wish to have a maid, stay at home, scrap all day. But I really cant. I want to spend time with my baby and my school going boy. But I cant. My heart breaks as I think of all these. But even as the crack of my heart is loud, so is the sound of the "kaching" as the prices of everything rockets.
My kids are being shuttled around like nomads so that both parents can go to work. Our income is too high to qualify for any kind of governmental aid. But just barely enough to cover the ever rising costs of today's living. So how?
Do I take away the extra classes for my boy? Do I buy less toys for my baby? Do I sell away my scrap stuff?
How do people like us survive?
Then again, do we have a choice? Survive we must. Carry on with life we must.
Therefore, even though this rambling seems kinda down, I'm actually feeling ok. Cos regardless of whether I'm miserable or happy, I still have to get through the day. So, I might as well get through each day happy right?! This is what one of my ever cheerful friend once told me.
So I leave you with another happy day, another cheerful thought......
Have a good week ahead and remember to get through your day with a good mood, light heart and happy face!

Challenge at Rough Draft Sketches

There's this lovely new blog for sketches (I know, I know! Another one!) But this one is really fun! The challenges on this blog, Rough Draft, are for the purpose of, what else, challenging yourselves! Yeap! The sketches are really fun and doable. I know of some sketch sites that have so much on the sketches that I end up asking myself, where in the world do I put my photos??!
So here's the really simple but adorably lovely photo and LO of Brianna!
Using the Spring Fling line from Pink Paislee, chipboard branch from Maya, chipboard frame from Lil' Davis(doesnt tat look similar to the Pink Paislee logo??!!), felt ribbon from Creation, "smile" crytals from Heidi Swapp and bling cardstock from Bazzil.
"SMILE"

Altered Art

I realised that recently I've been doing alot of layouts and not much of my favourite altered art. I did this lunch box tin some time back but never had the time to take photo and post. There's a little empty space on the right and that's for me to decide which travel booklet I wanna make and put inside this "Travel" box.


Here's another altered art done at Laines. I followed some of it but later decided that I'd much rather redo it in my own style. So here's the zig zag book (7Gypsies) on the story of my scrapbooking journey.
These are some fun tins that I like to alter as and when I feel like it. I've got a couple dozens of these tins and I like to put small little bellies in them and then alter them. Fast and fun!

Grateful for Friends Like U

Am done with this LO. It was actually a 'not-too-bad' LO rite from the start. However, the 'owner' wanted to chuck it into the bin and I yelled so loudly!! So I took over and just did a slight alteration. "Owner", hope you are satisfied with it!

The result of a bad back

After the result of speed shopping at Laines, I just have to blog about the result of a bad back. Mums-to-be, mums-already-be, watch out!! After giving birth, our bodies are severely weakened by the traumatic process. Our bodies are weak and we need to take really good care, not only during the confinement months, but for the next 8 months. Especially when you are fully breastfeeding your baby, like me.
The body produces some kind of muscle relaxant when we are pregnant, to allow for the baby to grow and then to be born. This chemical stays in our body for some time following birth. If we don't do a good job of taking care of our spine, the result is a severe muscle pull. That is what happened to me.
On Sunday morning, when I bent down to pick Bri up( i was in the correct bending position some more), I heard and felt a loud crack and something shifting in my back. I felt a severe pain shoot through my back and immediately I put Bri back down. I tried to sit and realized that I could not move at all! Imagine my shock and fear! I yelled for S to come. Poor guy had just fallen asleep for only 45 minutes. I could not sit down and I could not stand up! I was in a half squat position and crying in pain. S took a mattress and tried to help me to lie down. I tried to but the pain just kept shooting through. For the longest 10 minutes of my life, I tried to lie on the floor. Finally, I managed to get myself onto the mattress with S's help. I had to lie only on my side as I could not shift at all. It was a nightmare! Luckily I could still move my legs and wriggle my toes. We were thinking slipped disc! Horrified by the consequences of slipped disc, I nearly panicked again. As usual, my cool and calm hubby decided that I had to go hospital. My MIL called then and wanted to ask me to go and have lunch. I told her that I was lying prone on the floor and could not move at all. She, too, panicked and asked my bro in law to drive her over to see me. Brought the maid and all and lucky too. Cos with all the help, it only took us 1 hour to pack up and rush me to the hospital.
I was finally admitted cos the doctor suspected prolasped slipped disc. The pain was unbearable and even a slight jolt of the wheelchair sent me into spasms of pain. When the orthopedic specialist came, he took a look at my x-ray and pronounced that it wasn't slipped disc, prolasped or not. We all heaved a huge sigh of relief as he went on to explain that it was a very severe muscle pull or tear. The spine was in position and so were all the discs. Hahaha! Said doc. So very enthusiastic and happy. Of course it wasn't him in pain! But then, we were happy also cos the worst did not happen.
I was on traction the whole day and night. On Monday morning, I felt so much better that I could even get up and walk. But then that was all I could do. Walk and lie down. Sitting in a lying down position was painful, bending was impossible, carrying the baby.... don't even think of that! So the doc asked if I wanted to stay another day, but I told him no. I would rather go home and rest. So, I went for physio therapy before being discharged. It was there that I learnt that my muscles at the back was very weak due to "post natal birth" something. Plus I have been breastfeeding and not taking enough calcium and viatmins. Thus, the muscles there were so weak that a tear or pull was just waiting to happen. For the past few weeks, I have already had signs that something was not right. Each time I bent down to do something, I had difficulty getting up and straightening my spine. It then led to this.
So all mothers out there, please please please take care of yourself or else if this happens, life becomes very difficult. Especially if you're a SAHM and all the housework, care giving, cooking, washing falls on your shoulders. Right now, I still have to try to do some stuff cos husb really doesn't know and whoever comes to help me cant do it either.
Sigh...........

The result of speed shopping at Laines

It's really amazing how much we are tempted to buy when "forced" to speed shop! Especially when there is a time limit of only 3 minutes. And unbelivably, in 3 minutes, I managed to chalk up a whooping SGD$160!! And that is the amount AFTER DISCOUNT!!!
Ooooo!! How not to buy out the whole range of Doodlebug's glittered flower papers??
Jenny Bowlin's shaped CS Paper. I have no idea how or why I ended up with 2 pieces of this. When Nancy (Laines) asked if I wanted to put it back (she was so nice!) I told her never to mind. Course if my hands took 2 pieces, then it must be because I will need 2 pieces! She could not stop laughing at my pathetic excuse for getting 2 of the same thing!
So tweet! They have the same berries as my K&CO Berry Sweet papers!
Who needs more ink? Not me for sure! So how did I end up with 3 more ink pads? Must be the scrapbook muse that put it in my basket!

This is Lou's gorgeous Prima Crystals. I had wanted the same set for myself too, but luckily or unluckily, I forgot to put an extra set in my basket! Hee hee! So I only had the black swirls.
Here's the stash of MMBI stickers of which I grabbed 6!! And since each cost $9.90 before discount, that added to the bulk of my cost. But I just could not resist it la!! Then there was the Prima flowers which I could have done without, but of course which I still bought...... The sweet and lovely DaisyDs tags, the irresistable Thickers (miraculously I only grabbed 2!!) and the MUST HAVE Maya Road Chipboard Birds and Blossoms.
Close ups of my MMBI stickers and Maya Road Chipboard ....... I must have been MAD!!
Papers!! How could I not get them?! The gorgeously flocked Anna Griffin papers. I cant even begin to describe how lovingly I ran my hands through the papers. I ended up getting 2! Anyone wanna share??!!
Then there was the Hambly transparencies. I began a love affair with them when I did a full Hambly transparency album in black and white. Sigh......

So, have I justified my SGD$160 purchase??!! I hope I have, cos I think I'll be going down again with J on Monday.........

Genuine You

This may look like little Bri, but it's actually her big bro almost 7 years ago! Brandon was and still is the most handsome and adorable boy ever! I developed quite a number of this particular photo and have scrapped about 3 of them already. Recently, I found this photo again and I could not resist scrapping it again. So here, enjoy little Brandon 7 years ago!



Under that group of flowers is actually hidden journalling. Thought it would be fun to hide some journalling under all that flowers!

Now we are Frenz By Choice

J & I met each other 1st. I had admired her gorgeous work on Scrappers Loft. So I PMed her and she was so estatic that someone actually liked her work! From there, we chatted and then progressed to cropping together. Then, she was still preggie with Sky.
I decided to subscribe to a kit, Scarlet Lime. L was the organiser. I collected the kit from her place and stood outside her house and chatted like old friends for nearly 15mins while poor DH waited down below for me. Then I was preggie with Bri. I organised a crop for SL kitters and we went to L's hse for the 1st time. Subsequently, I persuaded J to join us for crops and that was how the 3 of us became fast and close friends!
Journalling reads : When we met, it was by chance. But now, 2 years later, we are frenz by choice.

The result of our crop party at Lou's place

Our four gorgeous princesses! It was such a Kodak moment then! I just had to scrap it. Lou was such a sweetie! She printed for J & I a whole stack of photos! On the spot, in about 15mins, I came up with this LO. Stuck on the main stuff and brought the rest home to complete.

Play At East Coast

This is a 12x6 layout. It's the 1st time I'm doing this size and it's really interesting. This layout is done for a challenge at PageMaps.




Here's the pagemaps sketch.

Even more layouts!!

Told ya I was hit by the inspirational bug! But after all these LOs, I think I'm all scrapped out!



I really love these shots even though it's really awful. Sometimes, even ugly photos tell a story and it's up to us to appreciate the story behind the photo!

A crazy upload of layouts!

Don't blink! Here's a whole lotta layouts at one go! Hahahaha! Hit by the inspirational bug I guess!

Here's one of Brianna looking real pensive. Hmmmm... wonder what's on her mind....

Our 1st family shot. This was taken when Bri was only about 2weeks old, so she's like kinda tiny.
Here's a close up of the lovely flowers by Prima.

These photos are shots of the Japan trip just before I got preggie. Brandon had the time of his life. It was a good thing that we went. Cos most likely we wont be getting a chance to get out of the country any time soon. With Bri so young and all.