Monday, February 11, 2008

Scrap Attack!!

With the girls at Made With Love hitting the CHA booths in Anaheim, it's pretty quiet in the store and forum.  sniff!  No new arrivals, no blog updates, no classes, no crops.  But wait!  The girls are bringing updates and photos on the forum.  Takes the edge off the withdrawal ... slightly.

I have taken to surfing for sneak peeks and updates from other bloggers and manufacturers themselves.   And the best so far is an extensive list posted by Avina on the MWL forum for Craft Critique.

All so drool-worthy.  Must use stash ... must make a dent ... must make room for new stuff!!  I think I'll reorganize my stuff a bit and hopefully get inspiration to make new pages.

Work. Off. Work. Repeat.

I put up a sign on my office desk when I left this evening to announce that tomorrow is a non-working day. It's like the weekend happening mid-week. And the weekend comes a day early on Fridays. I can get to like it if it isn't so exhausting being at home with Little One.

Work is draining. I used to enjoy work. Too much. At Big One's expense. Nowadays, I tend to call it a day, without the compulsion to "send one more email" or "edit one more document".

Well, there are good weeks and there are lousy weeks. When the going is rough, I just close my eyes to the bursting inbox at work and the dust bunnies at home.

So this working part-time business is not exactly smooth going. I didn't think of negotiating for many things when I made the request. Now I have to iron things out as and when I encounter them. Like a public holiday falling on a non-working day. Sigh!

On a happier note, I can now put on my original wedding band!! It's taken twelve years to lose the baby fats from Big One. After Little One, my weight is back to the fifties, my knuckle size is back. Unfortunately, my thinning hair is back too.  Grin.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Happy Lunar New Year!

It's a new year on the lunar calendar. According to Chinese custom, everybody is a year older so Little One is two years old already.

We don't visit many relatives. Our routine for today is to visit both set of grandparents in the morning. Tomorrow is lunch at an aunt's. That's all the 'compulsory' visiting. Not much, huh?

All the Fishes are asleep, it's peaceful. There is a roving lion dance troupe in the neighbourhood but the sound is distant. Ahhhh ... bliss.

Monday, February 4, 2008

Speeding

FAST: There is nothing a string of holidays to spark a clearance frenzy at work. Tried to strike some to-do's off the list so that the next few days will be worry free. Another half day on Wednesday and the rest of the week is family time. I'm looking forward to chilling out - be it with family or just pottering around at home.

FASTER: Zipped home after work - thankfully the road conditions were smooth. Got home early and started dinner early. Now everyone is settled in and Big One is already asleep. She needs the sleep.

FASTEST: Got the photo printer cranked up again. I intend to compare photos of Big and Little Ones for one of the albums. Got some reprints of Big One in a round-about way - by taking digital shots of the old photos. Saved me rummaging through the negatives, a trip to the store and a few days wait. How's that for instant gratification?

Now, to complete some pages by speed scrapping through this weekend.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Slow Day

Woke a little later than usual, maybe half an hour ... haha ... of course I'm joking. What is sleep when there is a baby who feeds every 2 hours or less.

But the rest of the day went slowly without much accomplished. Even dinner was slow. We only had 5 courses by ten-thirty. We eventually left after midnight. All in all, it was a meaningful event, as the solemnisation took place before dinner. It's also the first time I heard the proceedings in Mandarin.

Dress code for dinner was "formal". Big One looked pretty in her outfit, but she's not going to let me get anymore dresses for CNY, I'm sure. Little One looks cute in her pink dress, but I still get asked if she is a boy. I didn't get any photos ... sigh ...

Friday, February 1, 2008

February is here! I have been waiting eagerly. Why? Well, January is usually a dreary month, what with the new school year and a whole new routine of early mornings. This year especially takes some getting used to, with Big One going to secondary school and me working only 3 days a week and home alone with Little One on the other days. Plus, work is already piled up and I can't seem to put a dent in it no matter how early I start the day or even by skipping lunch.

So with February here, it feels like the newness of the year has faded and it signals getting into the groove ... at least that's what I hope for.

Of course, there are the usual holidays to look forward to. Lunar New Year, Valentine's Day ... It'll be good to chat with family members over reunion dinner, dress the Big and Little Ones, go visiting, munch on goodies ...
In addition, there is a wedding dinner to attend tomorrow. Quite a grand affair.

On the scrapbooking front, I attended 2 classes at Made With Love early this week. It was good for my sanity. Chatting on the forum, with fellow scrappers, getting some albums started and 2 pages done for a challenge. Not that it significantly reduces my stash, but I got a sense of achievement.

Here's are the pages done: