>>> Throbbing Head! <<<

Woke up this morning with a throbbing headache and spent the day feeling that way but I do loathe taking any pills. Just drank lots of water. I think sometimes I don't drink enough water a day. I hardly take tea or coffee, preferring hot chocolate or green tea.

Anyway, didn't stop me from finishing up a LO for the Speshal Dare #20 on the title Why?

That's Zac, always finding somewhere weird to play in the house! Use papers from Prima Marketing Inc, the Odyssey Collection. It was part of Back Porch Memories August Duet kit. Have to say that the papers are lovely!!!

Spent the afternoon at MIL's house and drew up tons of LO sketches. Now can't wait to start creating if I can find the time. Looking forward to Sunday's crop.

Rite, Grey's Anatomy is starting... TTFN!

>>> Having Fun! <<<

Wow! Postie brought me my Back Porch Memories kits today. Kits b'cos I had Aug and Sept shipped together as I was away in August. Plus I had won a summer LO contest so had a summer kit prize too. Spent the morning oohing and aahing over the papers and in the afternoon, used my Polar Bear Press papers to create this LO of Zac:

He has sustained a nasty bruise on his face twice on the same spot (although the picture doesn't show it well) and I just had to document it. Decided to go simple for this LO.

On the political front, was sad to hear about the military coup in Thailand where they ousted Prime Minister Taksin. He was in NY at that time and has since flown to London. Personally I think he asked for it by being antagonistic towards the King of Thailand. The people of Thailand absolutely revere in the King and he was stupid not to recognise that and showed his disdain for him. Well, that is a BIG mistake! Moreover he is being accused of corruption too. Anyway, it's a sad fact that most countries in the Far East have corrupted governments. Get fine by the police in either Indonesia, Malaysia or Thailand, all you have to do is grease their hands and you're off! Oh well, I suppose that's why they are still known as 'developing' countries! Will be keeping my eyes on Thailand to see what happens next as the King has actually given consent to the coup and the military is trying to find another PM soon. I've been to Thailand before and I really love it there. The people are really friendly and there are so many lovely places to visit, not to mention food! Absolutely luv their tom yam soup. The last time I was in Bangkok was in 2002. I was 6 mths pregnant then with Zac! I must have been mad to go there in my state but then I had a blast! It was so nice to visit Thailand after such a long break (I think my last visit was in the early 90s!).

Well, I'm feeling particularly creative tonite and will go and attempt a Speshal Dare. ScrappiDare #6 has just came it and it requires the use of sewing on LO... will definitely attempt that too! TTFN!

>>> Dressing Down! <<<

One of the idiosyncrasy I discovered when i came to this country is how people tend to dress up even when they are at home! When I moved in to my boyfriend's home (where he was still living with his parents way back in the mid 90s), I noticed how his family would dress up once they get out of bed. Now I come from a country where people don't bother to dress up unless they are going out. Hence if they are at home, dressing is very casual i.e short and t-shirt, housecoat or even just shorts or sarong for the men! In fact when you put on your jeans, it's assumed that you are dressing to go out. Hence, I used to query boyfriend as to where he was going in the morning when he put his jeans on. Slowly it dawned on me that people do dress up when they get up in the morning. They don't generally linger in home clothes... doubt it exist actually. These days, if I left my kids in their jammies all day long, I get a telling off from him! Frankly I see no reason why they have to dress up if they are gonna stay at home all day long. To me staying at home is being comfortable i.e. dressing up in comfy clothes. If one can't be informal at home then where else? Surprisingly, when hubby was in Singapore, he followed the norm and was in vest and shorts. My boys just wore their short and refused to put any tops on citing the heat! I guess he saw sense in dressing down. Only wish he could practise it here in the UK.

Then again, the darn weather has a part to play too. When it's cold, it would be utter madness to dress down unless I wanna freeze my butt off! Houses in this country somehow are so badly built that heat tend to escape so easily from the house. I used to live in an apartment in France and it was centralised heating in the building but I had to turn off the heaters in my flat as it got so warm! I kid you not! I only turn the radiator on in the toilet but elsewhere, forget it! I was wearing short and t-shirts too. In fact I could only put on my outer coat just before I left the building not leaving my flat as I had to go down the stairs and it was just far too warm to even put your outer coat on! Needless to say when I came to England, I was absolutely dismayed at the lack of warmth in building/houses!!! I've got to put my jumpers on at home even with the radiator on as it's just isn't warm enough to go without it! Sigh! How I dread this coming winter....

How did the day go... well, I left Zac on his own in nursery and he was fine! Once I showed him where the water pit is, he allowed me to leave with simply a goodbye! I guess he needs to know that he can move between classrooms easily. Let's see how he gets on for the week.

As for scrapping, my mojo has left me! Did a LO and hate it completely... looks a mess! Will have to re-do. Had a slight accident with my Totetally Cool bag too! As I put my Crop-a-dile in one of its pockets, it didn't go in properly and as I took it out, I accidentally squeeze the handle but not before realised that the hole punch was in between the pocket and it punch a slight hole (slight in the sense that there is a partial tear in the pocket!) Sigh! Pissed me off it did! Looks like Murphy's Law is working on me today! TTFN!

>>> Zac's First Day! <<<

at Nursery today! Well, he was excited to put on his sweatshirt and was eager to go. As it was the kiddies' first day, parents had to be with them. I showed him where he could play and what he could do. He initially went for the computer then he discovered the sand pit. In another room, he headed for the water pit and had fun there. He even did a spot of painting too and played playdoh. He didn't seem shy with the teachers and sat well during meal and reading time. Tomorrow, parents are supposed to go off as soon as their child settle down and I'm sure Zac will be ok as he had been to pre-School before. He did seem to enjoy himself. I've no doubt he will be seen quite often in the sand and water pits.

On the creative front, did a few LOs for Scrapitude DT.





Yikes! Shouldn't have been spending but ended up laying my hands on Autumn Leaves latest stamps: Rhonna Farrer Swirls v2 and a journalling set as well. I tell you they sell out like hot cakes the moment they are on the website! I absolutely adore the initial RF flourishes and swirls stamps as I've used them constantly. Then bag a bargain on Sakura Soufle pen, a set of 10 for less than £9 on Ebay. I found a LSS selling a set of 5 for almost £10ish!!! Imagine what a rip off! I'm informed that those pens are able to be seen on dark cardstock as well and it writes with an embossed finished! I luv playing with my pens so had to add that to my collection. Anyway, these are tools, not stash so can't count them eh?!!!

Rite, I'm absolutely shattered with exhaustion! Again the urge to sleep came over me quite briefly this afternoon but resisted going into my bedroom to lie on my bed ... can't be jetlag still... whatever it is, just wish I could hibernate till the hot season arrives once again!!! TTFN!

>>> Sunday Bloggers! <<<

SJ started a 'Sunday Blogger' theme on the Scrapitude forum and this is today's theme:

"If you could meet anyone famous or not, dead or alive, and sit down somewhere quiet for a chat.. who would It be and what would you talk to them about?"

Well for someone dead, I would luv to be able to chat with my grandma (whom I call mama) again. She died last December and as the funeral was held almost immediately, I couldn't fly back in time and I felt so bad as she had raised me from baby till about 6 yrs old. Through her I learned to speak Hokkien (a dialect) as she couldn't speak English. Through her I learned her life as a child. She came from a very rich family, so rich that each child had a personal servant. She was sent to school on horse-drawn carriage (probably didn't have cars at that time). She had tons of jewellry adorned on her too. I can't remember what her dad did but looking at her pictures, I could see they were very well dressed. Unfortunately it came to an end when she married a penniless man whom she pitied (moral of story, never marry out of pity!). Life became a struggle and she had to slowly pawn her jewellry to make ends meet. She bore 6 children but lost three, one through childbirth, another through the war and the last one through a car accident. She was a staunch Catholic too and named her kids after those in the Bible. I luv looking at her photographs and if I could lay my hands on them now, they would make priceless scrapping pictures as the clothes she wore during that time is now antique! She was brillant at making cakes too and every Chinese New Year, orders would come through for her Nonya cakes. I used to help her do them as well. I wish then I had written the receipes down as these days it's so hard to get the same quality of cakes that she makes. Oh and she was ever so good at making rice dumplings. That was a labour of love too and meticuously done. She would send me out to pick blue flowers, not any kind but a special one so that she could extract the dye and use it for the rice. Her fillings for the dumpling included chestnut and I used to 'steal' them from the pot which she had cooked when she wasn't looking. They were so delicious! Oh and not forgetting acquiring tons of banana leaves which she used them to wrap up the dumplings. First, she would fold them into a triangular shape, stuff the rice including the blue coloured one in as the base, then the fillings that consisted of meat and chestnut, and finally more rice to cover it. Then she would wrap it up with the banana leaves and finally steam the entire lot! Whenever she made it, I would only have rice dumplings for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Not surprisingly, she used to get tons of orders for her famous Nonya rice dumplings b'cos they were soooo good! To this day, whenever I eat any commerically bought ones, I just cannot help but compare it to what I used to eat before. They don't even have the blue coloured rice in too!

She lived to a ripe old age of 91 and died peacefully in her sleep. She had become rather weak as she grew older and was confined to the wheelchair but luckily her son hired a maid to look after her 24/7 hr/days. I brought Oliver to see her when I was down in Singapore a few years ago and introduced her to her great-grandson. Doubt if she recognised me but when I told her I was pregnant, she looked happy and clapped her hands. It was sheer agony to see her looking so thin and shrivelled and tried my best to keep the tears away but failed. I knew she was well taken care of as she was living with her son but still, it was hard to take in the ravages of old age. Then, just before Xmas last year, my dad called (on a Sat) to say that she had passed away peacefully in her sleep. When my uncle checked on her in the morning, she was smiling and appeared ok. However, in the afternoon, when the maid checked on her, she was cold. It was a great shock to everyone as there was no signs of her passing on. She wasn't even sick! As I couldn't get to her funeral in time, I told my dad to take pictures of her in her coffin and I swear, she had a smile on her face and looked so young. She certainly didn't look old and her skin looked so unwrinkled. Needless to say I spent that weekend crying and got my dad to keep me updated on her cremation progress via text. I still wished I had attended her funeral though since I was closer to her than my other grandma. I remember all the Hokkien phrases that she used to scold me when I was naughty as a child, her delicous cakes and her life in general. I do miss her and wish my kids had a chance to know her. If I had the chance to chat with her today, I would luv to record her life as a child and scrapbook it.

The other person I would luv to chat with is my best friend Ellen. We met through school as teachers and somehow clicked. It made teaching life bearable as we had each other's company and a few others to pour our frustration out to each other. When I left to study abroad, we kept in touch and somehow, she eventually made her way to the UK too when she did a degree at Loughbourgh Uni. Needless to say, I would pop over there ever so often. At that time I was in England doing my Masters and was living with my boyfriend (now hubby). We had great fun exploring England, going out to different towns each weekend. Then we got separated when she finished her degree and returned to Singapore. A few years later, she came back to England to be with her Brit boyfriend whom she had met in Singapore but later went back to England. They got married here and for a few years, we would go to and fro each other house's during weekends. She was around when Ollie was born and used to look after him, fed him and played with him. Then her hubby found a job in China and they moved to Shanghai. Yeah, these days we chat using MSN and email and still pour our souls to each other. I was so glad to meet her last month when she came down to Singapore and although it was a short meeting, it felt so good to be able to have a tete-a-tete face to face instead of via cyberspace! I cherish her friendship dearly and hope one day we will be living in the same country again (doesn't matter which!!!) As to what I would chat with her about, literally everything under the sun! She's one person I'm able to connect very well and where being silent is comfortable too.

Gosh, can't believe how much I rambled. Anyway, today was a chill out day for the family. Hubby did the housework while I took care of the laundry and later in the evening, we had dinner with MIL & FIL. Curry again but it was delicious! Another weekend that has quickly flown by again... TTFN!

>>> Learning Mandarin! <<<

It's my wish that Oliver learns Mandarin and today we rushed ('cos we woke up late!!!) to Joseph Chamberlain College where the Mandarin classes were held. However, I found out that it would be taught in Cantonese! I wasn't too keen as Ollie doesn't speak Cantonese and that means he would have to learn 2 languages at one go. But I was told that there was another group of classes teaching Mandarin using China's Mandarin which takes place in the afternoon. So decided to go back later.

Mandarin have 2 types... the simplified one and the traditional one which makes use of more strokes to write a character. Needless to say the simplified one uses less strokes and is used by China. Taiwan and Hong Kong makes use of the traditional one. Obviously I want Ollie to use the simplified as it's the one that is commonly used in the Far East too i.e. Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia etc.

To kill time, we went down to Birmingham town centre. We had to get Ollie shin pads for his soccer practice. Then we went to look for the Lego store and found that it had closed! Shock Horror!!! Managed to get some info that they closed down the franchise something to that effect! So we went to another toy store called the Entertainer and the boys got themselves more Bionicle sets!!!

We went back to the College and I brought Ollie to the class. Found out from the other parents that the beginner class started last year. What was best was the fact that I met with other Singaporeans too as well as Malaysians! Inwardly I was excited as since living here since 1999, I've not met any Singaporean that actually live in Birmingham. We exchanged contacts and hope to meet up as a couple of them are SAHM as well.

The Chinese teacher finally arrived and I think she was overwhelmed by the sheer number of newcomers. Initially she was worried that the new ones wouldn't be able to cope as it wasn't a beginner's class. But as the number of new ones kept rising, eventually she came to the conclusion that there would be a separate classes for the new and existing pupils. Hooray! I can't tell you how difficult it has been for me to find a Mandarin class in this county. There are classes for adults but for kids. it's a rarity! I was determined that somehow he gets into a class! Anyway, we were all told to come back at quarter past three to pick them up.

Picked Ollie after the class and he was happy. He said he wanted to go again. Initially he showed some reluctance but I guess he realised it wasn't too bad after all. Found out from him what he learnt... numbers, face parts etc. something I do know so will write out the notes for him and practise with him.

Back home, the boys built their Legos. Went through my mail too where I had received Scraptitude Oct DT kits and some new scrapping books that I had purchased online. Made lamb rendang for dinner and it was delicious!

Rite, off to put my thinking cap on. Dying to scrap those new papers!

>>> It's Thursday! <<<

It's Thursday
A routine visit to
Mom-in-law's place
Where she keeps the kids entertain
While I read the newspapers
Bliss!

>>> Just Another Day! <<<

Zac's nursery teachers came for a home visit. They asked a few questions about Zac and then took a picture of us and of him. Those photos will be used in the nursery to make the kids feel at ease and to see familar faces too.

After they left, took a drive to Wednesbury to Renault's Bodymatters to get a quote on my car. An oak tree just outside my house is leaving saps on my car's body work and it's almost impossible to get rid of the stains. We had written to the Council to get the tree trimmed but they refused and stated that any damage caused will be entertained. So I'm gonna send in my quote + pictures of the damages it has caused to my car's body work! Let's see if they keep to their words!

Oliver started his soccer practice in his school today. He did it last school term at another area but since it was offered in his school immediately after dismissal, why not! Saved me from driving + I get to pick him up later. Works in my favour! He gets to play with his school friends as well so that's good!

Postie brought me my lovely stash of ribbons from Shoebox Trims. Wow! The colours are so yummy, orange, purple and green... very halloween-like colours! Absolutely gorgeous! Will have to put on my thinking cap to see how best to use them!

Rite, off to do some creating... TTFN!

>>> Quake Doctor! <<<

Brought Zac to see a doctor regarding his snorty nose... as usual, the normal comment... 'it's a viral infection'. He has had a running nose for the whole of last school terms and even when we were in Singapore. How does a viral infection last that long?!!! Anyway, the doctor that I saw is considered to be a quake! He isn't that good so I will have to seek second opinion and if I do get the same answer, will have to activate the private health care service! I don't want him to go through another school term with snorty nose again!!!

Postie brought me a Multi Retro alpha clear stamp from My Sentiments Exactly. Having used it at a friend's place, I wanted it so badly as it reminded me of QK Katie font. I luv that font. Found it at a UK online store for £13ish excluding postage. Checked out US Ebay and got it for less than half the price including postage (£6ish). That's me, always searching out for bargains! I've this fetish for stamps in any forms... clear, unmounted, foam etc. Just got Rhonna Farrer latest Flourishes v2 too but awaiting confirmation. Got my eye on Autumn Leaves journalling stamps too but I think I can easily create that image to be honest so might skip it. Will keep my eyes peeled for other stamps instead!

In the evening, organised my scrapping den a little. Discovered a pizza box filled with papers and had to sort them out accordingly. Now I'm really overwhelmed at the number of stuff that I possess! It's wayyyyy too much! I swear that I will stop buying new items until I somehow make use of the existing stuff!!! Thankfully, I re-sorted all my stash supplies so that I can see them easily and therefore use them as well. I soooo wanted to scrap badly! TTFN!

>>> Anniversary of 9/11 <<<

Today's is the Anniversary of 9/11, the airplanes that hit the Twin Towers in New York and Pentagon. I still remember that day very clearly. I was at work and received a call from hubby who was away and in a hotel and was seeing images of the attack! He was describing to me what had happened and suddenly there was this buzz in office. Someone located a TV and we were glued to what had happened! It was a real shocker and that day passed like a blurr! It's just so insane that there are some willing to kill innocent people for a cause! Absolute nutcrackers they are!!!

On the mundane side, my little rascal did it again... this time he peed on his own bed! Sigh! Hubby gave the excuse that he isn't feeling well but I think there is something else! He has been having sinus problem lately, moaning about his nose and frankly I'm getting worried as he has always had a snorty nose for as long as I can remember. In fact he had never had a clear nose at all and he sounds very nasal too! I will have to make an appointment with the doctor to have him check out.

In the topic of health, I'm still not myself since coming back. Suddenly in the day and I feel this insane urge to sleep!!! Not sure if I'm still suffering from mild jetlag but I guess it gets worst as I grow older. I can have a good nite sleep and still feel the sudden urge to doze in the afternoon!

Postie brought me a parcel today. Got some 7 Gypsies 97% new stickers and Tim Holtz Aged Mahagony distress inkpad. I'm trying to slowly collect them. Sorted out my photos and printed some out for scrapping. Got tons of new papers and dying to use them. Well, off to finish my DT assignments... TTFN!

>>> Just Another Sunday! <<<

My little rascal peed in our bed!!! Hubby had brought him to our bed and I woke up halfway in the nite as I felt something wet... only to discover that he had literally soak the bed with his wee! Boy was I pissed!!! Wouldn't mind if it was somewhere near the edge but he had to do it somehow close to the middle and hence, ended up squashed onto hubby side of the bed!

In the morning, hubby had to attend a memorial of his nephew who was drowned a few weeks back in Spain. As no kids were allowed, he went off by himself! Sad though for the little boy who ended his life so quickly. He has an older brother who I can imagine will feel quite lonely now.

In the afternoon, dragged hubby to the Chinese supermarket to get my sauces!!! Came back from holiday to find all the sauces required for cooking was gone! So I had to stocked up on essential Chinese wine, Japanese marinating sauces and other bits! Added a couple of snacks as well too... yup, I do luv to snack but prefer the Chinese snacks such as preserved mandarin peel, plum etc. Oh and I even found my fav biscuits... sugared crackers, very akin to those Jacobs crackers but with sugar on it! MMmmm! Oh and not forgetting my prawn crackers! While this nation luv their potato crisps, I much prefer my prawn crackers instead! The boys had their fav pandan cake.

Made curry for dinner and went out to get fresh nan and popadom from the curry house. Hubby didn't think they would sell me only those but I told him which business would turn down any sales no matter how small!!! The boys had baked chicken thighs instead as they still too young to have curry. Can't wait for the day when I don't have to cook separate meals just b'cos I want to eat something spicy! I'll make sure they learn to take spicy food too! TTFN!

>>> Croppin'! <<<

The boys woke us up early today!!! It's amazing how they get up extra early during non-school days! Hubby wanted to take them to his sis as it's her birthday today. I had a crop to go and we split up separate ways about 10ish.

Went to the Moxley Massive crop. It's their 1st birthday today. I've been going there on and off. I was very productive today! Did 2 LOs, one for Scrapitude DT assignment, but couldn't complete them due to missing parts. Then I decided to work on my A-Z Parenting album. Started in March and it has been left uncompleted. I managed to complete 4 letters - T, U, W & Y as they happened to be in the crop bag. I think I've got 5 more letter to complete!




Left the crop at 8pm as I wanted to put the boys in bed although the crop didn't end till 9pm. Got home only to find that I had reached home first!!! Urghh! Hubby and the boys came back about half an hour later. Both were already sound asleep. They had an enjoyable day as there was a fete in William's (their cousin's) school and they had fun there. Apparently there was some car ride and Zac managed to bang into a soft wall but then got the hang of driving and did brillantly after. Then he won himself an Incredible toy at a tombola and Ollie managed to bag himself a sword at one of those hammer thingy! Pity hubby didn't have the camera on him otherwise it would make great photo shots!

I was totally knackered out... funny how sitting for long periods of time do tire one out!!! Went off to bed early! TTFN!

>>> Creativity Strikes! <<<

The same Postie brought me another parcel from Gina's Craft Ideas and it contained my Cropper Hopper file folders. Great. Now I can sort my patterned papers properly as I was reaching a stage where I really have no idea how much patterned paper I possessed. Wish I could have brought back my stack of cardstocks from Singapore as I had subscribed to a monocromatic cardstock kit last year and I've got the entire range of colours!!! Currently I don't possess much now and what I got comes from the kits. But to be honest, I much prefer using either white or black cardstocks as I find I work better with them. I've no problem getting white textured cardstocks cheaply but find the black ones are a little difficult. I'm not really that brand conscious i.e using only Bazzill one but as long as it's textured, it suits me fine!

Went to Loopy Lou's Moms and Toddlers group. I've been going there for the past one year and I've only got about 3 weeks before I will have to stop going once Zac starts nursery. It does him a bit of good to get out and play with other kids. Then went off to the shops where I spied upon a broom and a dustpan with long handles. I've been on a hunt for it for a while as mine has progressively gotten shorter and needed a new one. However I wasn't too pleased using it as it felt weird and caused me undue stress to my arms! Maybe, I'm just too used to the old one! Got myself a 20x15" canvas too as I intend to do a highlight of our vacation instead of doing LOs. I've already done LOs of previous trips to Singapore and it's no point repeating it so will do a canvas so that I can hang it up in my scrapping den. I VOW to get this done!!!

Started on a LO in the afternoon. Once I have an idea what I want to do, it is easy. However, I had to juggle between the demands of a 3 yr old boy and my LO. Managed to get most bits stucked on before doing the school run.

Brother-in-law popped by in the evening to borrow the radiators. His house is undergoing renovations at the moment and they have no heating. Hubby fortunately came back home early too so got him to sort out dinner instead as what I wanted to cook initially wouldn't have sat well with BIL as he doesn't eat seafood! So we had pork chops instead.

Hubby is in the midst of fixing the toilet sink. We bought a new one to replace the gubby pink sink. We initially had plans to redo the toilet entirely but was told it was take 2 weeks to complete so I decided against it... imagine, 2 weeks without a toilet in the house since we only have 1 miserable bathroom in this house! Instead, we are just changing bits inside until we can get another toilet fixed downstairs. It's amazing how a bit of touchup can change the image completely. We re-painted the walls and replaced the vinyl flooring. Now it looks much fresher. Now all that is left is to replace the ugly pink bath tub! Yup, we inherited a pinkish suite with pinkish tiles from the previous owners! Can I say how freakin' awful it looks!

Spent the nite touching up on my LO. One down and 2 to go. Off to create another one now... can you not tell I'm on a roll...... TTFN!

>>> More Stash! <<<

Postie rang the doorbell and waited for me to answer the door which is surprising as he usually leaves the parcel outside the door. Anyway, door opens and he gave a laugh! 'Oh she's back' and proceeded to grill me how long I've been away and where to! No problem talking to him except when you are dressed in an oversized t-shirt and knickers, you do feel a wee bit naked in the chilly morning wind! Gosh, I think he now remembers me as the lady with pizza boxes!!! I've actually cut down on the number of kits ordered but still do get one or two in a month!

The day started with good intentions. I had plans of what I wanna do... sort out my old clothes, organised my craft room etc. In the end, I ended up napping with Zac instead! Towards 11ish, I was feeling so lethargic that I just had to take a nap. Just wondering if I'm still suffering from jetlag??? Oh well, at least I did fold up the clothes and put them away as they had been lying around for the past few days... can you not tell how much I dislike housework!!!

As I had received my stuff for Scraptitude DT, my mind was buzzing with ideas but by the time I had sorted out what I wanted to use in separate 12x12 baggies, it was far too late to do anything and I had to go to bed. Couldn't do anything in the evening as Grey's Anatomy was on at Living TV and it was a smasher! Fabulous and the plot gets better each time. It's annoying when you know that the 3rd series is starting in the US soon and here we are, watching the 2nd series!!! Steph (Homegrown owner) offered to get me the 2nd series on DVD as it's out in the US but I wasn't too sure that it would play on my DVD set as mine isn't region free!!! So sadly had to decline her offer. Oh well, just have to make a date with my TV every Thursday nite at 10pm.

Talking about TV, I've suddenly lost National Geographic on cable. Instead I've got other channels such as Living TV1, ITV4, Bravo and a host of useless channels! Ahhhh bring back my National Geographic as I'm hooked equally on Seconds from Disaster, Air Crash Investigation etc. Sigh! The problem you have with a basic channel! Actually I don't even pay for it as it came free when I ordered my broadband with Telewest! So I was lucky! Hence , can't complain can't I?? Just wish they will bring back National Geographic eventually.

While I was in Singapore, caught a host of interesting US programmes and I was keen on this particular one called Project Runaway. It's a bit like Apprentice where there are about 12 contestants vying for a designer place with a well-known clothes brand. Every week, they had to come up with clothes made to certain specs. There was one week they had to create a wedding dress based on the model's requirement in 3 days. Another week, they had to create a swim suit within 5 hours. It was very interesting to see how each one managed to get something done within the time constraint and best of all, come out with very unique designs too. I've checked the TV guide here and no channels have so far brought that programme in! I think it's in it's 3rd series in the US now. Darn, make me wish I could live in the US especially since they have such entertaining programmes or be in Singapore since they do buy a lot of US programmes. I just cannot get my head around the UK ones. I've tried watching a few UK ones but it just does my head in trying to concentrate on what is happening. It can be so intensive sometimes!!! TTFN!

>>> Getting Back Into The Flow Of Life! <<<

Yup, I'm slowly but surely getting back to routine. Ollie started school today and I had absolutely no clue which class he is supposed to go to nor which part of the school to go in (Different levels have different entrance/exit to drop off the kids and pick them up!) So made my way there early to find out. Ollie had also insisted on having packed lunch to school. Frankly, I rather he had hot meals in school as that is his only recourse to Western meals since I don't do Western meals at home for dinner! The last time I attempted to grill some pork, it came out so hard! Hubby could only give me a look of disgust! Oh well, one hardly grill pork in a Chinese cuisine!!! Hubby said he would do the packed lunches as he's finding it expensive to eat out during lunchtime. Oh well, as long as he's doing it, fine by me but I still prefer Ollie to have hot meals instead of sandwiches all the time! I think one spends more having to buy stuff to put into packed lunches. We'll see how long it lasts....

After dropping Ollie off, went off to Asda to search for my favourite hot chocolate drink, Milo! I just can't do without my hot choco at nite and I will only drink this brand as I've tried most of the hot choco brands in the UK and most of them just leave an awful aftertaste! The only problem is that not all Asda stock it, mine does as it's located in an Asian area and they do have an aisle which stocks Indian products and somehow, my Milo is included as part of the product range! The other place is Wing Yip, the Chinese supermarket but it so much further going there! Even the boys enjoy them as well and I much prefer them drinking it as opposed to drinking tea. Nothing against tea but when you have better choices out there, why not! Beside, if pregnant women are told not to drink too much tea/coffee during their pregnancy, it must mean something doesn't it! I've read that kids under 5 shouldn't drink tea as well as it inhibits their intake of iron. Shoot me down but I'm very sure I've read it somewhere! Hubby complains that I make horrible tea but frankly when I don't drink that stuff, it's ain't easy making it good! I do drink it but only when I'm out since it's a hassle telling your guest you want hot choco when they offer you either tea or coffee!!!

In the evening, when to Ikea (yet again!) with hubby. Thankfully, MIL had the kids so we were able to shop in peace. Decide to get a sink unit for the bathroom as it was about time to change ours. Manage to squeeze a few more stuff for my craft room ... a magnetic board and some magnetic round tins. Those will be great for my Prima flowers! Got a couple more wire baskets as well. We had to go to the warehouse to pick up our sink and it was located not too far from the Ikea store but somehow we got lost going there! Hubby blame me for my poor map reading but it's true, I really suck at reading maps... god knows how many times I end up getting lost despite having printed out detailed directions. Definitely need a sat-nav in my car! Anyway, we managed to find the warehouse but was pissed that they couldn't even light up the name Ikea as it's almost impossible to see which building it was in the industrial estate especially in the dark!

It was way past the boys' bedtime and after a quick shower, they went off to sleep without a fuss! Have to say that since coming back from Singapore, they have been going to bed with relative ease... kinda like they literally drop off instantly the moment their heads hit the pillows! Pretty good as I used to have to threaten them in the past. Let's hope they keep it up!

Thoroughly knackered now... think I will head off to bed early. Haven't been watching CSI lately as most of them are repeats and I think I've managed to keep up to date with all the series now. Let's see... Vegas 1-5, Miami 1-4 & NY 1-2. Yup, seen them all and awaiting new series to come out although by the time it hits the UK, it will be probably be a year later.....TTFN!

>>> Organising! <<<

Popped into Ikea today with the 2 boys to get some storage for my stash! You would think start of the school week, easy to get into the play area but nope! had to wait about 15 minutes before there were vacancies for the 2 boys. Anyway, once they were in there, went hunting for the stuff required. Got myself some storage boxes, wire baskets to complement my shelves. I was out of there within an hour.

After sorting lunch for the boys, buckled down to organise. Decided to put all my alphas, in any form, in one big box so that I will know what I do have! Currently buying more of them and not using any that I do possess! Then all chipboard shapes went into another. Group all metal embellishment in another box and sorted the acrylic and wooden ones in another. Bits and bobs went into little drawers that I have and clearly labelled. Got all my clear stamps in a basket too. Sorted all my colour mediums (i.e. paints, pens, inkpads, alcohol inks etc) into little wire baskets which I hung beside the main shelf. All my idea books went into one of those brown boxes that hubby bought for the time being. Next in line is to sort out my patterned papers. Currently they are in various pizza boxes and frankly I really don't know what I do have. Ordered some Cropper Hopper 12x12 file holders from a local scrapping store that offered free postage (blessing!). As soon as that arrives, will commence the sorting and weeding out of papers that I need and don't need!

There's still loads more to sort... prima flowers, buttons, albums etc. Wished there weren't so many brown boxes as I much prefer to lay them open instead of hiding stuff in boxes. Then again, those boxes are begging to be altered so might do a spot of stamping on them to decorate them slightly. Looks like I've got a fair bit to do!!!

Found out from my dad that my Homegrown DT kit has finally made it way to Singapore, a week after I left!!! Now the hassle of getting it sent here... boy do I hate postal systems!!!! TTFN!

>>> Start Of The School Week! <<<

It's Monday and Ollie goes back to school this week but he doesn't start till Wednesday!!! Zac's even later... 18th Sept! Boy am I looking forward to some daytime peace when they both start school eventually!

Kept the boys occupied in the afternoon by letting them paint. Ollie did a great job while Zac managed to get paint all over his body... god only know how! Had to give him a quick shower to wash the paint off! Then later we made some chocolate lollies.

Tried to get my craft room sorted a little but frankly don't know where to start! Looks like I will need a roll of black liners to throw out the rubbish again. Sigh! TTFN!

>>> Garden Show! <<<

Woke up to a glorious day and hubby decided to go to the Garden Show at Kings Heath. We have been going there every year and even though I'm no gardener myself, was suitably impressed by the dedication of the gardeners with their effort to produce the most amazing fruits/vegetables. We saw gigantic vegetables, huge flowers and well decorated gardens. Amazing!!!

The kids were not left out too as there was a craft tent and they both had a go at painting some animal ceramic. Ollie chose a dinosaur while Zac took a monkey. Ollie did a brillant job at his and Zac wanted his elephant pink!
Later they had a go at sculpturing some clay and with the help of daddy, made a dinosaur and a bowl. Then they went on a donkey ride too. Both really enjoyed themselves a fair bit.


We didn't get much plants apart from a hanging basket plant that looked half dead by the time we brought it home... somehow ribena juice fell on it and it was sticky and awful! Hubby got me one of those collapsable basket rollers which I put it in the boot of the car as they are brillant for holding items that have a tendency to roll about in the boot!

On the creative side, managed to finish a LO early this morning! Well had no choice as it was for an assignment. Made use of the Li'l Davis glitter paint and boy do I love it!!! Gosh they give new lease of life to chipboards! Had a look into my July Homegrown kit and played with some of the stash in there!

>>> What A Mess! <<<

Hubby had plans to go fruit picking today but the weather was so bad that we had to change plans. We knew we wanted to go out somewhere but had no idea where so headed to Tesco instead where the boys had a Lego set each. At this rate, we might end up with the entire Lego sets in our house!!!

In the afternoon, got hubby to send the kids to his mom's and I had the glorious time of being alone in the house! Think I need a mega sort out of my new scrapping den as hubby had graciously dumped everything into those brown boxes. I will definitely have to re-define the entire room and get new storage boxes for different items. Maybe a good time to get rid of papers/stash I don't use anymore too! Will have to check thru' my Scrapbook Etc mags as they have a section for scrapping storage!

Plans to scrap went awry when I offered to help put together images for Homegrown Hybrid and Trilogy kits. Somehow Steph's PCs as well as her friend's went kaput at the most inappropriate time... don't they always!!! Made use of Microsoft Picture It software... simple as it is but it does the job very well. I'm afraid I've difficulty getting to grips with Photoshop and would need a good lesson in that software. So in the meantime, might as well make use of another that aids me well! Have to say, Sept kits are looking awesome!!!

Right, off to see if I can scrap a bit... TTFN!

>>> Dora, Pirate Adventure! <<<

Wow! It's September now! Just can't believe how time has flown so quickly! If I had gone with my original flight, I would have been flying back from Singapore today!

What did I do... ehhh nothing basically. Well, did surf around and found a job that particularly interested me so spent the day tweaking my CV and filling in the application form. Then received an email that Scrapitude Store was closing down so headed there to grab some bargains! It was the case of fastest fingers first as I had left the goods in my cart for a few minutes and found that one item has already gone! Hence quickly put my orders in. I think I stocked up on inks, alphas and some lovely papers!

Gosh there is a lot of stores closing down. Recently heard that Occasions craft store is also closing down. That was the store I went for my first card making lesson and subsequent ones later and used to buy a lot from them. Then when I discovered scrapbooking, didn't frequent them as often. They did bring in scrapping stuff but they were limited in designs and quite expensive too. It's quite sad really.

Picture taken before performance started!

In the evening, hubby managed to get some tickets to see Dora the Pirate Adventure at the Alexandra theatre in Birmingham. It's a musical production from the US. Obviously the kids went too and they did enjoy themselves immensely. The boys knew the songs as they do have the DVD and had seen it before! Will have to book them another one during the Xmas season. They do enjoy watching these shows.

Back home, they went straight to bed after dinner without a fuss! I couldn't stay up to watch my triple bill of CSI and went into dreamland by 10ish!!! Still suffering from jetlag methinks! TTFN!