>>> Out & About! <<<

Ollie had Mandarin class today so after sending him, we headed toward Fort Shopping Centre to check out the First Choice Holiday Hypermarket. Need to book our tickets to Singapore... unfortunately, the flights offered to us were undesirable... Air Lanka, Qatar, Gulf Air... no Emirates or SIA!!! Sorry, as desperate as I'm to go home, I'm not about to take unnecessary risk with my life or that of my kids! Eeeks! Already I stay clear from KLM (horrible plane and food) and Lufthansia (no TV on the back seat). Somehow, gonna try to get on Emirates... great plane, good entertainment value and fantastic food too! Plus we get to stop at Dubai where I can get my dates (as in food)...oohhh, they have the most fantastic dates over there! Looks like I've to check online!

Later in the evening, hubby booked us a trip to Legoland for the April halfterm. We are gonna stay in a hotel nearby. A good break cos if the weather is foul, we can always make use of the hotel facilities. And yah! no cooking for 2 days! :) TTFN!

>>> HobbyCraft NEC! <<<

MIL did me a favour by helping me pick the boys up from school so that I could spend longer time at the HobbyCraft exhibition at the NEC! Went there with Morag and we both spent a big deal.... for me, mostly stamps. Was quite surprised to see a fair number of altered art stuff and even magazines. Managed to lay my hands on Cloth Paper Scissors and Altered Art mags. Bought a fair bit of 7 Gypsies stuff too and laid my hands on some latest Fancy Pants papers. Quite pleased with my purchase but it's so bloody expensive to go there! Anyway, here's my new stash... always nice to be able to see before buying:

The box came without the inkpads... couldn't be bothered to take them out before photographing! Look like I might need a bigger box later.... those dewdrops are the BEST inks to use for stamping!

TTFN!

>>> Car-less Again! <<<

Car was sent to the Renault Garage for servicing. Couldn't collect it in time for school run so had to walk to Zac's Nursery and then to Ollie's school. The little mink was again moaning his head out about walking! Lazy bum! After that, we took the bus to the Garage to pick the car up! The boys enjoyed the bus ride, something they don't get often! Event of today kinda told me something... I'm too reliant on my car! TTFN!

>>> Fog! <<<

Woke up this morning to this:

Foggy and chilling! This is supposed to be SPRING!!! What went wrong? Thankfully, as the day went on, it became brighter and sunnier so that by afternoon, it was sunny and warm!

In the afternoon, took Ollie for his violin practice as usual but today was slightly different in that there was a concert after there to showcase the pupils' talents! Brought MIL and Zac with me and had to bride Zac heavily to keep him quiet! Little rascal couldn't keep his mouth shut... he talks far too much for a boy of his age! Ollie was brillant!

A little dark but will edit before I scrap any photos... hard to take great one with my camera of mine which I think is the pits!

TTFN!

>>> Another Disaster At School Run! <<<

Talk about mega frustration! Again during school run... boys in the car, tried to start the car but nothing happened! Battery was completely dead! And that was 10 to 9am, which meant we were gonna be very late for school. Had no choice but to walk and it took us 30 mins to get to school, partly due to Zac's moaning and whining his head off. It then strike me that I should have taken the pram. It took another 40 mins to walk back home, again due to Zac's meandering walk. Called the AA when I got back only to find that it has expired and I would have to pay £175 for renewal. Got back to hubby and he said he would come back for lunch to help.

True to his word, he did but his attempts to jumpstart failed miserably. So he had to call the AA under his account. The man came and couldn't get the battery to start so in the end, he changed a new one! He even found that my car keys needed to be reprogrammed as well. After he left, called Renault to book a car service and to sort my car keys out. It's being done this Wednesday so hopefully they can finish in time for me to do the school run.

Man, why do I always encounter such diasaters during school runs.... gonna get pretty paranoid soon if it happens often! TTFN!

>>> Simply Chillin' Out! <<<

Woke up today with a niggling headache so I gave up going for a crop. Was just too tired to do anything crafty. Instead, helped Zac do a mobile, a homework from nursery. Hubby brought the kids out to the park on their bicycles. Did a bit of tidying up and laundry.

Both hubby and myself forgot about the clock change! We are now 1 hr ahead... just lost an hour sleep! But the good thing is the day is now longer.

Rite, off to do a CJ that needs to be posted tomorrow! TTFN!

>>> London And Another Toot! <<<

Woo Hoo, today is the day for the reveal!

Morag and I drove down to Olympia, London to go to the Stitches & Craft show. The reason: I've won the First Prize in the Readers Gallery in Scrapbook Inspiration magazine and bagged myself £300 worth of Xyron products.

The two of us were super excited to be in London... imagine, childfree to indulge in stash shopping! Had a good browse at the exhibition. Can't say there were much scrapping stash but I think we spent a fair amount at the Banana Frog stand. Then we headed to the Scrapbook Theatre where my layouts were hanging on the wall. There were tables laid out for those who wanted to scrap so we did a 6x6 page for a charity cause. Played with Banana Frog stamps too and they are brillant!

Met up with Carolyn, my team member from L-Plates on UKScrappers. We had lunch at Pizza Express. All of us had salad and they were delicious! Then back to stash shopping. Bought some more dewdrops, Rouge de Garance papers, and a Swirl stamp set.

Moi with Carolyn and Morag at the Banana Frog stall. Couldn't resist buying a Swirl stamp set after using it at the Scrapbook Theatre.

At 3pm, the prize ceremony began. Met Joanne Mullen, editor of Scrapbook Inspiration and had a chat with Dawn Bibby and her hubby. Also met the team of SI too. It was an exciting moment and I just went through the motion...so overwhelmed! Thank goodness for my friends who acted as unofficial photographers! My prize... a Xyron Personal Cutting System with 6 packages of cartridges, spare blads and mats. Wow! Now wondering what to do as I'm not really a die-cut user but more a stamper! Might just keep it for my sons to use. Ollie is into crafting big time and always rammaging thru' my stuff!

Moi with Louise Fortune (2nd prize winner) and Shimelle, design team member of SI mag.

My hall of fame! Silly me forgot to take an overall shot of it in my excitement.

Louise Fortune (2nd prize), Zulieka Greenham (New Face) & moi (1st prize) : winners in the Scrapbook Inspiration Readers Gallery.

My prize given by none other than Dawn Bibby! I was surprised to see her there! Joanne Mullen is the lady in the middle, editor of Scrapbook Inspirations. While I was there, met Cheryl, Anne, Shimelle and Rosie, the team members of Scrapbook Inspiration. Nice to put a face to the people you often see in the magazine.

Later I had a chat with Beverly, owner of Banana Frog. She invited me to join her Design Team...woo hoo! That must be the icing on the cake! Gosh her stamps are lovely. Not surprising, I said yes! The thought of having more stamps to play is just exhilating! She has some new stamps coming out so I guess I will be playing with them.

We left London at about 4 ish and reached Birmingham about 6pm. Gosh it has been an exciting day but very tiring. I was so knackered in the nite that I just watched telly. Too brain dead to create despite having lovely stash to stroke!! TTFN!

>>> Kits Galore! <<<

Why on earth does the Postie have to come during my school run. Came home to find a note saying I had 2 packages that couldn't be delivered!!! Sigh! I even know what they are too, my Back Porch Memories and Scrapitude DT kits! So I spent the day twiddling my thumb instead of drooling over the papers! Well, not quite twiddle, actually worked on a DT LO and completed it too!

Got my kits later in the afternoon. Gosh, almost wet myself in excitement at the Scrapitude DT kit.... man, those papers and Hambly overlays rock! The kit should be out in April and you won't be disappointed! Check out Kimmy's blog for info about the kit!

Rite, off to London tomorrow to the Stitches & Craft show at Olympia... usually I wouldn't go to London but there is a purpose for going there... all will be revealed tomorrow, with photos hopefully! TTFN!

>>> Plans Gone Kaput! <<<

Received a text early this morning informing me that Oliver's school is closed due to heating problems! WHAT again!!!! This is the 2nd time... they really ought to have the heating system serviced regularly! So any plans made to have time by myself flew out of the window. Brought Zac to school as usual!

Anyway, finished up a LO that I did last nite. Finally made use of my Rhonna Farrer Superstar papers which had been lingering in my stash!

That's my MIL with her grandsons! They absolutely adore her as she really pampers them to bits. Whatever she earns is spent buying little bits for her grandchildren, mostly clothes! Bless her! My boys luv having a sleepover with her. Lots of stamping involved ... gotta make use of my stamp investment! I dont' do diecuts but absolutely luv my stamps!

Had a nite crop with friends. Worked on a DT LO. So glad my mojo's coming back as I'm expecting a couple of DT kits in the post. Looking forward to stretching my creativity again... TTFN!

>>> 1st Day Of Spring! <<<

Today marks the first day of Spring but it sure didn't feel like Spring. Day started out sunny and glorious but flippin cold! Poor kids still had to be bundled up in scarves and woolly coats. As for me, immediately after school run, went straight home.

Worked on a LO during the day! Played with Rhonna Farrer Superstar papers. Had them in my possession for a while and decided to play with them.

Watched Desperate Housewives at nite... man that programme has me gripping the edges of my seat... well bed, and craving for more! I refused to go any crop on this nite as the last time I did, I ended up watching TV instead! Luv Wednesday nites!!!!! TTFN!

>>> Letter Of Importance! <<<

Breakfast time:

Mom: Zac, eat your crust!
Zac: But Mandy said you will get curly hair if you eat the crust!
Mom: (speechless again!)

FYI, Mandy is his lunchtime supervisor at nursery. Never heard of such nonsense but was informed by hubby it's an old wives tale! Seriously if eating crust will result in curly hair, I would gladly eat it ... spent tons in my younger days getting my hair permed so that it would be curly! Unfortunately, my hair is poker straight!!! And looking at Zac, his is as well! Sorry mate, there's no way you're gonna get curly hair! But try convincing a 4 year old with a mind of his own..... sigh! He even manages to leave crust on those non-crust bread as well!

Received a letter from Birmingham City Council informing us that Zac got into the same Infant school as Ollie! Phew! That's one worry down. Informed him but he was whining and saying I don't want to go... as usual, being typically difficult!

Finished up a layout that I started out last nite... slowly getting my mojo back but it's hard work.....

Played with Basic Grey Scarlet Letter paper and a few stamps! Got the entire collection but now thinking I should have just gotten a few.... Ohhh, luvvvv 7 Gypsy gaffer tape! Gonna add more to my collection I think!

TTFN!

>>> Finally! <<<

Finally broke out of my mojoless spirit and actually scrapped a layout today! A DT layout too! Yeah!

TTFN!

>>> Happy Mother's Day! <<<

A very Happy Mother's Day to those who deserve the title! Got a card from my eldest who made it in school and a box of choccies from both of them.

Couldn't sleep the nite before and made some cards. Here's the mother's day card I made for my MIL:

Made use of old stash in my possession! Good to know that I'm slowly using up my cardstocks for cards!

Invited MIL over for dinner. SIL and her boyfriend happened to be around so was also invited too. Hubby did all the cooking. Gosh he cooked a spread! We had king prawns in two different varieties, chillied and in garlic sauce, fish, vegetable, sweetcorn soup and curry. Beats eating at a restaurant anytime!

In the evening, the weather changed and it snowed! There was this huge gale and suddenly it was hailing! Then the ground was slowly covered in snow. The boys couldn't resist and went out to play! I just can't believe it's snowing at this time, just as we are heading towards spring. Poor toes of mine are swollen due to the sudden coldness.

Sorted out my stamp collection. I had the images stamped on a sheet and laminated and the stamps were put nicely in a folder. I find that when they are stored neatly, they are more likely to be used. Beside, best do it now as I'm expecting more stamps coming my way! Now debating what to do with my mounted stamps! Currently they are taking up tons of space and it's hard to bring them along with me when I crop at friend's. Might just unmount them but such a waste to throw the wood away!

Guess what! I finally scrapped! Yeah! Broke the mojoless spirit I had and did a simple LO. Thought I do simple to slowly ease my way back. Made use of Cocoa Daisy Jan kit which I still haven't used fully!

As you can see, lots of Fontwerks stamps in use!

Hopefully this marks the start of my scrapping spirit! TTFN!

>>> Some Mundane Bits! <<<

Friday

It was Red Nose Day today and both boys had something to do with the theme. Zac was to come in something red while Oliver had to wear something big. So this was what I did with them:

Ollie wore his dad's tie while Zac was dressed in a red Chinese suit. I put on red socks to keep his little legs warm. Gosh, they do look cute!


Saturday

It was a brillant day! We had some shopping to do so we headed off to John Lewis in Solihull where we got the boys new pairs of shoes, new Bionicle toys (only because it came with free water bottles) and a wedding gift for hubby's colleague. Then we had to send Ollie off to Mandarin class. Headed to Wing Yip to get some Chinese grocery as we had literally ran out of cooking sauces. Kinda fancied prawns for dinner tomorrow so we got a box of prawns. Hubby managed to buy a fish too. In between, chucked in some Chinese titbits as well.... boy do I miss them as I grew up eating such stuff. Unfortunately, they don't come cheap! Anyway, that bit of shopping cost us over £50... why do Chinese foodstuff cost so much in this country??? Feel like I'm being victimised for eating Chinese cuisine in this country especially when I compare the prices back in Singapore!!! Sigh!

Later in the afternoon, the boys played with their Bionicle toys. They have effectively collected the entire set in this series which consists of sea creatures. Oh well, that's what you get for having boys.... Lego, cars, trains etc are what they are interested in!

Any attempts of doing anything creative few out of the window... just had no inclination whatsoever!

>>> Asian Dare #4! <<<

The Asian Dare #4 is up! The theme is on Food and here's my take on the theme. Decided on fruits from Asia!

With a mojo that has deserted me, this was the best I could come up with... had a hard time doing it as I was so uninspired!!! Well, at least I did get to use my Fontwerks stamps.

Went for a crop at nite at Morag's. Managed an incomplete LO (incomplete as I didn't have any chipboards on me that I wanted to use!) and finished a card for a nephew.

Checked out the Look stamp! I lost that stamp on the day I had it while trying to sort it out in a binder and tried as I could, I just couldn't fin d it anywhere! Anyway, while doing my Asian Dare LO, I decided to play with my alcohol ink and lo and behold! the stamp was stuck to my bag of felt that I used for my alcohol inks! Phew! So pleased that I've found it at last.

I think the card is a wee bit 'mature' for my nephew but heck! Who keeps birthday cards anyway! Beside, there's no way you can find such a card in the shops!

TTFN!

>>> Mega Toots! <<<

Ohhh, received an exciting email today! Sure as hell put a smile on my face the whole day. I shall wait for official announcement before revealing but let's just say I'm to be in London next Sat (24th March).

Look what Postie brought me today! Oh la la... stacks of new stamps from Fontwerks which I had bought from A Million Little Things. Gosh they are so gorgeous!

Hoping this will kickstart my fledging mojo. So annoying not to be able to scrap....just not inspired at all to do anything! Sigh! TTFN!

>>> Some ATCs! <<<

Finally completed my Zodiac ATCs. I chose to do Taurus, after my birth sign. Here's an example of what I've done:

I've lost my scrapping mojo big time! Have not done any LOs bare one since the beginning of the month! Just no inspiration at all! This is not good as I've got DT assignments coming in and I need my mojo!!! Sigh! TTFN!

>>> What A Busy Day! <<<

Completed my Freestyle CJ. I'm hosting one at the Scrapitude forum and the theme is Freestyle so the gals can choose what they want. I'm not gonna reveal what's mine exactly but it's gonna be slightly unusual. Here's some sneaky peeks of the finished work:

There was an inspired workshop at Zac's nursery. Basically, parents/caretaker is supposed to spend time with the kid and take part in the activities. Zac enjoys having me around as he knows he gets special stuff to do. Well, it was no exception today. The theme is Goldilocks and the 3 bears and Zac got to make some porridge and he ate it with jam and raisin. He actually liked it! Oh well, at least now we know what to buy for him for brekkie! We were given a list of activities to try and I tried to ensure we covered most... so we made a bear face, played with water & sand, tried the interactive video etc. It was quite fun! Here's some photos that I managed to take:

Having his porridge with jam and raisin. He actually enjoyed jam in it!!!

Making a story book.

His bear face.

Later at nite, did some online shopping at Addicted to Rubber Stamps. They were having a sale whereby if the product had more than 5 reviews, then there were 20% off. Hence, went wild and ordered some lovely stamps from well known brands such as Stampington, Stamper's Anonymous etc. As if I didn't have enough stamps! TTFN!

>>> Happy Birthday MIL! <<<

Today's is MIL's 64th birthday as well as SIL's 25th birthday too. Imagine having to give birth on your birthday.... nitemare!!!

Anyway, we took her out for a meal at Wing Wah Chinese restaurant. Food was pretty good and Zac tried his hand at using the chopstick.

After lunch, we took a walk in Birmingham town centre. Missed the procession for St Patrick's Day though.

Back at her home, the boys couldn't wait to cut the birthday cake. We got her a cake from the Chinese bakery and it was simply delicious! There were more fruits on hers than there were on Zac's!

Which reminds me, there are more birthdays coming up.... nephew, another SIL etc.! Sheesh! More cards to make! TTFN!

>>> Playing with Stamps! <<<

I'm into stamping big time and I did 2 cards, one for my MIL and SIL whose birthday is this Sunday.

Picture is a little dark as it was taken at nite. SIL showed up unexpectedly so had to give her the card (save me posting it!).

TTFN!

>>> Trimmings Galore! <<<

After the school run, waited for Morag, another scrapbook enthusiast, and we both headed for Birmingham town centre. First stop, the fabric centre to nose about. Tons of lovely fabric... pity I don't sew!

Next stop, the Rag market. Ohhhhh, we stopped by a stall that sold lovely trimmings. Gosh, what an absolute find. Both of us went mad and bought between us, about £10 worth of them. Look at those goodies...

We even stopped at the ribbon stall and picked up a few jumbo ric racs! After that, we had tim sum at China Palace. Mmmm, such fantastic meal.

Later at nite, couldn't help creating a LO using some of the trimmings that I've bought.


TTFN!

>>> Conversation With Zac! <<<

My conversation with Zac....

Zac: J told me his mommy has a big bum and it's wobbly.
Moi: (speechless)

If nursery boys are having such conversation at that age, me wonders what boys at Infant school are talking about! Rite, off to check if my bum is big and wobbly! TTFN!

>>> Weekend In Poole! <<<

Saturday

Had an early start for Poole about 9ish. Picked MIL up at her place together with Zac where he had spent the night. Journey was uneventful. Had to stop twice as the boys were whining and Ollie even threw up. Thank goodness for a toy box that was lying around otherwise hubby's car would have smelt heavily of puke!!!!

Eventually reached SIL's house! What a relief! Weather was ok... it was sunny when we were driving down then it rained as we were approaching Poole but then it became sunny again when we finally halted.

SIL's place was a right mess. They are currently extending the back and thankfully got the basic structure put into place. Lucky for them, they have managed to redefine the rooms too so at least there were proper kitchen and living room. However, there was no heating. Thankfully there were loads of electric ones around.

The boys were excited to see their cousins. Soon they were out playing on trampoline in the garden. Typical! SIL had two other older kids, both in their teens so they were out at that time.

The kids enjoying themselves on the trampoline.

Here's Zac having a time of his life!

The two boys having a tussle!

In the evening, we had dinner at Nandos. Can't say I enjoyed it.. couldn't even finish my 5 pieces of chicken wings! The boys didn't like much theirs either. Funny how when I make my wings, they are literally fighting over them and every single piece is wiped clean!


Sunday

Went over to Swanage to see hubby's uncle who's turning 60 in a day's time. Brought him some pressies and cards. We went by the long route and came back via the ferry (the shorter route). We wanted to experience the sea. Pity the ferry was such a short journey.

As you can see, such a dreary day and the sea was pretty rough.

Ollie on the deck of the ferry.

The boys were so keen to play on the beach but it was just pouring down with rain the entire day. Such a bummer to travel all the way down and not get a chance to hang out on the beach!

Left Poole at 6ish. Thankfully boys were asleep on the way back. Finally got home at 9ish. It was still pouring down with rain!

Did I enjoy the trip... nah! All we did was hang out at SIL's house. What a waste of time... if I had wanted to stay in, I should have stayed at home. I think it would be a while before I head down there!!! TTFN!

>>> What a Dramatic Morning! <<<

What a Nitemare morning I had. Just as I was about to start off for school run, I realised my car keys along with my house keys were missing. A frantic search yield no sight of the keys. Found out that the little mite had been playing with it yesterday and could he remember where he placed it? Nada! So in the end, I had to call MIL who has our spare keys to come over and unlock the door. Weird eh, I do have spare car keys but no spare house keys. Had a good rant at hubby too for not having a spare house keys as there is no way I could have left the house. Yeah I could have left via the garage but it locks from inside and I wouldn't be able to get in. What a dramatic morning. Needless to say the boys were late for school!

Had a good clear out of the craft room... well, more a case of shifting stuff from there to the loft. Managed to get some storage drawers out from there to the craft room so that I can use it for my ribbons, blossoms and buttons. They have rapidly increased beyond belief. Seriously I don't need anymore of them but doubt if that will stop me from collecting more! The room is much neater now so hopefully I can churn out a LO tonite.

We're off to Poole in the weekend to visit SIL. MIL is coming with us as she hardly gets a chance to visit her nieces and nephew. Gonna be a tight squeeze in the car as hubby's car is hopeless where space is concerned in the back! Sigh! About time he changed his car... it's way overdue!

Will update when I get back on Sunday! TTFN!

>>> More LOs! <<<

Now that my projects for Little Silver Hat is out, I can reveal. Made use of American Craft ribbons.


Spent the day running errands and a bit of shopping. Went into Dunelm Mills to exchange a sofa throw that was defective and had a good walk around as I couldn't last Sat due to the fact that I was chasing after Zac constantly! Shopping with kids is a nitemare! So I had a good leisurely stroll and picked up more laces. Ohhhh, I'm into laces big time and bought more blossoms especially orchids (like I need more!) Also found a box of trimmings and braids for £5. A bargain as they had 5 reels of about 374 cm worth of them. Blame it on Morag... she bought the blue ones and we went half. I got the cream ones and we halved them. Good to have a friend who does share the same interest and can easily share purchases too.

Got home and decided to organise my blossoms into colours. Boy did I get a shock! Didn't realise I possess a fair amount of blues and wine-coloured blossoms! And all the time I'm thinking I don't have any blue blossoms! What an eye opener! Gotta stop buying blossoms now... I've got an enormous bagful of them that will last a lifetime! SERIOUSLY!

Postie bought the Purple Onion stamps that Morag and I bought at Self-Addressed kit. They were going for half price and a real bargain. I bought about 3 sets, an alpha, a postage one and some sentiment words (mainly for cards). Made my day it did!

Think I need to sort my craft room again. It's getting into a mess. I just can't work in such a messy room... no inspiration! Guess what I'll be doing tomorrow! The boys' toys will have to go back to their room and I will be able to utilise the space for my craft items more effectively. At the moment, they are all on the floor! TTFN!