(Miniature) Golfing Weekend

Godzilla meets Changi Airport

I played 18 holes last weekend. Phew.

Ok, it was miniature golf. In a large air-conditioned room. But still, it was tiring!

Lilliputt is the name of the place we went to, partly to recce for the upcoming summer camp programme. It turns out that it is also the venue for children's parties so there were lots of kids running around but fortunately there was enough space for everyone and we didn't have to wait long to try out the different holes.

Mini golf always sounds a little cheesy and amuses me no end.
Mainly because of a 1987 movie called Overboard in which the lead actors (kurt russell and goldie hawn in their salad days) developed a mini golf course. Love that movie!

Saturdays are bliss

Eye-update:
My eyes have been lasik-ed for a week now, and I still find myself groping for my glasses in the morning. And feeling like I need to take my contacts off late at night. And I had a minor panic attack the other night when I realised that the halo around street lights were larger than before. Yikes, 0-Had I done something to permanently ruin some part of my vision?

But apart from that, it's been good. I feel like I am less tired these days, maybe because I don't have lenses to dry my eyes out, plus I've been diligently using eyedrops through the day. But we'll see if this turns out to be one of the unexpected benefits from the op!

And on to this good Saturday:
Like clockwork on a Saturday morning, I awoke at 6 all bright eyed (heh) and bushy tailed (not really but you know what I mean).

Breakfast of leftover pancakes, with my beautiful mother. (Is this pancake mix better, she asked. I nibbled. I concurred. Score 1 for Aunt Jemina pancake mix.) My daily dose of Nescafe Gold Blend. The Straits Times (mum starts on Section A. I start with the Life section.).

After a delightful breakfast, we adjourn to the living room. (I finish the rest of the papers and wait for mum to finish Section A :)

Mid-morning, the karung-guni uncle arrives. We save our papers for this particular guy. He gives a decent rate, reminds me of my uncles on my dad's side (bryll cream and old-school shirts), has a cheerful disposition, the right low tone of voice that is loud enough to let you know he is there without being annoying, and a row of pretty coloured raffia strings on his trusty trolley to boot. Many other people swing by the neighbourhood on weekends but this uncle is the real deal.

In case you're interested, the week's newspapers netted $1. The 2 insurance annual reports that were a total waste of time probably accounted for about 20 cents.


Disclaimer: this photo was taken some weeks ago and depicts about 2-3 weeks' worth of newspapers. Prices quoted are seasonal. Check with your friendly neighbourhood karung guni for prevailing rates.














And tonight, I think I will take my camera for a walk to the launch of the new double helix bridge. Maybe I'll get to test out the fireworks function on my camera!

Snail tale

For Feli.

"We ate here!!", I thought, as I stumbled on this chef/author's page.

Then I realised it wasn't the place we ate the snails (after being careful to remove the little footpads...)

Still, it was nice to see the photo, a familiar place we passed by almost every day from the apartment to the train station.

Paris was fun :)

Part II: Eye told you eye'd be back

Hahaha. Did you like the pun? I thought it up in about 5 seconds :p

Here is a shot of me all garbed up in my small personal waiting space before and after surgery.

My thoughts around this time were, why on earth am I doing this?? I was sleepy, and standing between me and my bed was this little eye surgery.

It didn't help that there were several other patients in similar curtained cubicles and I could hear them post-surgery. The man to my left was groggy and sounded a bit disoriented. I could hear a Caucasian man on the phone with someone, talking about how it hadn't been as bad as he thought it was.

Anyhow, I was pretty nervous. I thought, what if there was a blackout in the middle of the whole procedure? Sometimes, it would be best to leave the vivid imagination at home.

I was downright stiff as I lay on the operating bed in the cold room. I heard loud noises. I visualised what was going on. There were two parts to the surgery; after they cut the cornea flap (the worse part of it all), they quickly moved me to the next machine for the lasers to reshape my eyes (medical details omitted) and thankfully, moved on to wash my eyes and gently flip the cornea flap back.

Despite what my aunt told me, my vision wasn't perfect immediately (seems it was the case for her). I stumbled out of the waiting room, silently traumatised but glad it was over. I could see well enough to walk out and meet my beautiful mother blessedly waiting for me outside. Homeward we zipped in a cab, me with my bug eyes (little eye guards to protect my eyes), got home, popped a sleeping pill and off to bed!

In less than 24 hours, my eyesight has gotten as good - or better - as when I was wearing contacts. And yes, I am happy to confirm that there was no pain, just slight discomfort and it done wonders for my eyes.

Whee!

Part I: Eye story (and there WILL be a part II)

A night time photo! Pretty lamp hand-carried back from Turkey by Sheena :)

Tis late (for me) - almost 11pm.
Time for bed! Yawn.
But just 1 post.
Because tomorrow evening I am going under the knife.

Well, laser to be exact.

And the surgeon will do gross things like slicing my cornea and having a laser beam reshape my eye (any doctors reading this: please fill in the missing medical details yourselves :), flipping the cornea flap back and [something else happens..more blanks here] and ta da, my eyesight will be perfect. Grossed out yet? I am...

For the record, my eyesight is 550/600 and very low astigmatism. And I have small eyes but my cornea is slightly above the average in terms of thickness. And I have healthy eyes. So basically I can undergo lasik.

I'm sure it will go well.

But, what if it didn't...

Over the last few weeks, I have been fretting a little over a possible loss of sight while I mulled over this decision. What if it affected my photography? :( What if I couldn't blog any more? :( Or gaze at beautiful scenery?

I'm pretty sure it will go smoothly.

But really, sight seems extra precious right now! Treasure it...

Old building - black, white, red

I had the loveliest jaunt last Sunday and the memories are fresh in my
mind... Looking forward to posting some photos from the gallivanting,
like this old building. Lovely gate and doors.

It's Friday! Bring on the Friday wardrobe! Weekend is almost here...as
usual, there are places to go, things to do and people to see.

Weekend inspirations

I thought about...

Hosting a party. Tips, and a new blog I think I'll be reading. My aunt, who migrated to Canada, is coming back for a visit in July, and I am thinking of a theme party.

Doing good in the world, and doing it well. Saturday's life section did a great spread on the Lien Foundation and the good work they are doing in making clean water more accessible to people in Cambodia.

Maisonettes. Also in the papers was a reproduced article from March's Home & Decor which has made me rethink maisonettes.

Design and marketing. Article on the Spades. Which also made me think of chelle's owl bag (hello chelle). And incidentally I feel like it's odd when the brand's namesake is no longer at the helm. It's like macdonald's without ronald, or KFC without Col. Sanders. Or something like that.

Handmade books and legos. I keep wanting to make a book, and I keep procrastinating. The inspiration comes and goes :) Thought this book project was very cool.

I had a good weekend including badminton on Sunday evening.

And here we go hurtling toward the end of the month.

Weekend

So. I didn't go to Bali. This week, I contemplated jetting off for the weekend to join the best friend but had to reluctantly relinquish the wild, almost-attainable dream of nonchalantly catching a Friday night flight, living it up in the St Tropez of Asia (well I think it comes pretty close) and moseying back on Monday evening.

Alas, work got in the way.

Still, thinking about it got me all rev-ed up for enjoying the weekend, starting with discipleship group with a close-knit group of friends followed by supper at Old Airport Road where the Hokkien Mee hit the spot. Can I just say that cheap hawker food at 11pm is one of the joys in life...

Have a great weekend!

Hankering

To go or not to go? That is the question...

Word of mouth

Two trips ago to Bali, there was this amusing sign.
Just an update from 1 trip ago.

Seeing the art in me

This was a side-product of a card I made last year for Tara, one of my sunday school kids. I was testing out the stamps and it occurred to me that there was literally art in her name...

Anyways. I took the afternoon off today because I felt a cold coming on and I was pretty distracted the whole morning thinking about my developing sore throat and a funny feeling in my head. Plus I have about a million days of leave to use. Ok not really but a lot more than my (envious) brother.

Oh the joy of breaking the routine. Of the smell of freedom and the weekend ahead. Even though my next two Saturdays are already booked up with important but probably boring events :( I'll try to see the silver lining in those clouds...

Talking about silver linings, I have thus far been able to ignore solitary strands of white hairs that have appeared amidst my erstwhile entirely black hair, occasionally plucking them to give them the hint that they're not wanted... but they have a mind of their own and persist in coming up and multiplying. The other day I caught sight of 3 long strands on my right side, spread out equidistant and looking like one of those streams of smoke coming from jet planes at an aerial display. Argh! And just yesterday I saw a white strand resting on my shoulder, made all the more visible on my black blouse (like dandruff, but I don't know which is worse, dandruff or white hairs. hmm dandruff probably). I went so far as to consider not wearing black tops any more. Which would be a problem, as I'm in black half the time.

Argh! I could go on about the signs of aging in this 'jar of clay' but I will try instead to see the art in me (this from a song I like by Jars of Clay). And I will turn my thoughts to the weekend ahead!

Day dreaming / inspiration

This is what happens when you relax a little and stare out of the
window... You see your name in big bold letters (albeit hidden in a
hotel name). Never saw THAT before!

Rider's Cafe

I love, love, love special breakfasts with best friends on perfect
days off. Eggs benedict, waffles!!, bacon & toast & fruit. And a
verandah-side view of horses to captivate the little girl.

Delightful :)

Two Months

The days are frightfully hot.
The grass is much browner now, unlike the still-green shot above.

It has been two months since I took up a new post at work.
(deep breath)
It has been unsettling, at so many times feeling like I was sinking. Thinking I would have to quit soon. Feeling anxious, oh so anxious.

The grace of God kept me going.

Hear my cry, O God;
Attend to my prayer.
From the end of the earth I will cry to You,
When my heart is overwhelmed;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

Psalm 61:1-2

Thank God for family and friends. For lovely meals and kite-flying and quiet times and Chinese New Year gatherings. For friends who empathised and asked how I was doing. For the inspired word of God; for the Almighty God's revelation of Himself and who He is, to us. For the Saviour's call to abide in Him, for His joy to abide in us, for His word to abide in us (John chapter 15).

And then the rain cleared. Things are falling in place and tis a work-free, worry-free weekend! My biggest problem is what to bring to a birthday party later today... oh joy!

Art All Around

I think there is art everywhere you look.
Photos from a Saturday jaunt earlier this year.
Introducing...HDB art!

typography...


















photography / slice of life / social commentary...


















modern art


















and my personal favourite, something rothko-like. and incidentally, it would make a pretty skirt pattern :)


















- The End -

Quiet Retreat

It has been tough at work.
Imagine having monday blues start on friday evening.
But I am cheered to know that my family loves me no matter what, and that I have friends who will stand by me. And that even if I don't do well in work, I can still do well in other areas of my life.

***
I wrote that in Jan but was sleepy and depressed at the time so the post languished in the drafts folder until now. I'm back, woo hoo!

The 1-day quiet retreat I attended was good. It was good to slow down and be quiet (quieting even my anxious thoughts, for instance) and let God's word impact me.

Right now

I am resting on my bed
Watching the sky
Feeling happy for this respite
I have about 10 minutes before I have to get moving
Signed up for an inductive bible study workshop this morning
After which I hope to have a nice lunch
And sigh I have work to do
Before i get to the evening when we have a young adults' fellowship
group

Phew.

I was just reading facebook updates and was amused by the common
thread - people relieved to get to the weekend after a traumatic week,
people up to their ears in work with deadlines looming...

In the past few weeks, I have been cheered by several things, like
encouraging words and my continual stream of hillsong and planetshaker
songs in my ears (iPhone was great buy indeed :p). Speaking of which,
hillsong kids' Love Never Fails really cheered me up. "Did Jesus
really say we should love those/who hurt our feelings and step on our
toes?" Hee.

Also, I have been so cheered by the psalms. Gotta run so more next time.

Admired but not bought

'It photographs well next to my bag' was just not reason enough to purchase the dress :)

One - I was glad they didn't have it in my size.
Two - this shop's dresses were about $100 on average a year or two ago, and it's gone up about $70. Crazy!
Three - I am trying to think thrice before I buy something. I have so much stuff, it takes just a little effort to think of alternatives that probably already exist in my cupboard.

And four - I am headed to Jakarta (aka land of outlet shopping) in May...

The day winds down

Feet. Hurt.
It was a full day. Shopping after dinner, which came early now that
cell group now starts and ends earlier. It was funny to come out and
still see sunlight. Wow it sure was early. So we took the rare
opportunity to go gallivanting. Whee.

Pre-wedding lull

Saturday morning.
Deciding what to wear. Thinking, I shouldn't wear something that I
would ordinarily wear to work. Special occasions are fun that way.
I went through several dresses, rediscovered things I'd forgotten.
Settled on a black dress from jacob (how I wish they had online
shopping), rustled on some makeup, party shoes, and off I went.

Anyway since I always wanted to do a 'things in my bag' post, here
goes: pretty brown clutch - a gift from Feli. The red wallet too.
Georg jensen keychain - gift from boss. Love pretty things... Many red
things in my bag like my iPhone cover and the red Ang pow for the
wedding couple! Oh and a scarf I bought in Phuket the first time I
ever travelled with Feli :)

A Fortnight

The first fortnight in my new workplace passed by in a blur. Lunches with new colleagues, ex-colleagues, warm welcomes, settling down into my new workstation, work work work...

Thank goodness for dinners with friends. Above: coffee and dessert (honey crumb affrogato...slurp) at Oriole cafe & bar. Love the dark polished wood furniture and softly flickering lights. The music was right.

(It's past my bedtime this early Sat morning, and I have a full Saturday with a wedding/lunch to attend and cell group in the evening and odds and ends to tie up but I feel like I'm fighting sleep and trying to have the fun of surfing/blogging. Still, the comfy bed beckons. And I haven't even posted photos from my walk last weekend yet...)

Chinese new year is round the corner!

Spotted: snacks piled high.

So much to be thankful for

1. The warm joy of family celebrating Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ - Immanuel, 'God with us'.
   
2. A look back at the cards I received last year and thinking about the people near and dear to me. December was pretty hectic. I started my Christmas list 4 days before Christmas. A list is a mightily useful thing to have.
   
3. Writing Christmas messages on paper source cards that I'd vowed to use this year...
   
4. ...while my ham baked. A rather successful encore of the ham that I debuted last Christmas was warmly received and heartily consumed.
   
5. In all, I did 3 spurts of Christmas shopping. Ending off an evening with hot chocolate and watching the world go by. My bedtimes went awry this past fortnight. It felt like I was on holiday in France again.
   
6. Discovered what to do with all those calendar stickers. Created an impromptu treasure hunt for a good friend at work to hunt for her present.
7. Supper at conrad's after christmas service. The place was beautifully empty and quiet. Talking. Reading Christmas cards. Unwrapping presents.
   
8. Christmas day lunch at "nana's", an annual tradition. Devil's curry meets sushi rolls.
   
9. Love the warm welcome at the door at lil's
10. Buying capsicums for my "so raw" salad...
11. ...for a delightful potluck get-together with friends at charlene's. Chocolate-dipped strawberries, Japanese ice cream (sea salt is incredibly nice) and iced wine, how very grown up.
12. Amidst the candy canes, there was still time and space for good ol' sugar toast and tea at lil's
13. An adventure, an escapade with Sheena after "the last service". Coffee and chatting late into the night.
14. Welcoming the new year with champagne and kueh pie tee, a combination I find amusing
15. Little hands grasp the brand new markers (an array of beautiful not-your-usual-colours and washable, mind you) that they received from yours truly
16. Prawning with friends on new year's eve, AND I also managed to have some family time
17. What to do with the prawns? Have steamboat, of course.
18. A new work year dawns...and the story carries on. The cup was a gift from last year and I finally took it out to use. It is a nice glass gup with a good weight to it. There are challenges ahead but I will walk through it all with God.

Have a blessed 2010.

Right now

I am making space in my phone for a new year's worth of photos.
My 2000+ photos are taking up space and slowing me down :)

Let's hope this works (but it probably will)
http://cdevroe.com/notes/howto-del-iphone-photos/

[Afternote: Arghhhhhhhhh!!!! just kidding. worked beautifully.]

Back from a retreat

On Weddings

Attended Lynette's wedding to Jeremy this morning. They look like a good match :)
This is Shane the page boy, who was super cute. Maybe it was stage fright of some sort but he tried to run away :) Aunty Jenny had to prod him along, and he still kept trying to run away even with his eyes closed! Anyway the little man made it down the aisle and all was well.

On the topic of weddings...cute wedding blog with some cool stuff! Via this girl Deanna's blog (who I stumbled upon after reading about her own wedding, very cute).

Road trip

It used to be that I hated going up north, on long journeys along dusty roads and gross toilets and nothing to see.
But the toilet situation is much better these days and now I love road trips and long straight roads with nothing but clouds and random trees and vehicles going about their work.

This was our first ever overseas youth camp...I am not sure if it is my last (even though every year I say to myself, I think this could be my last camp...) but I sure am doing less running around with each year that passes. The kids are so funny, they come up with the funniest nonsense. They are full of energy. I love seeing them play, take care of each other, loved seeing my P6 kids integrate and having a blast.

Butterflies (Or, The Alternative Uses of Aluminium)

The MS Butterfly punch... a handy bookend and producer of pretty little butterflies.

It didn't work as smoothly as I thought it would the first time round, which meant I could try out the whole use-aluminium-foil-to-sharpen-your-punches thing which I was always a little intrigued with. How on earth does aluminium sharpen the punch?

But it seemed to work, and I got a whole bunch of shiny, bendable butterflies to boot. Oh, the possibilities! The aluminium box says 'For cooking, freezing, wrapping and storing'. I think it should also say "for crafting" :)

A Confession

This is the post in which I confess my stationery splurge.
In which I will also be making many justifying statements.

My name is manda and I am a stationery addict.

But it's not really my fault. (Or so they all say)

It was the paper market's fault, with its shiny rows of perky and beguiling stationery goods. And those discount coupons? That was an evil move, my friend.
(to market, to market, to buy...a new punch)























Or maybe it was Martha's fault. Yes, your honour, 'twas she who instigated the creation of beautifully white and delightful punches, packaged in white boxes that suggest a hint of Tiffany & co.

I present the evidence, herewith.

Exhibit A: Said Punch in white-and-blue carton.






















Exhibit B: The other side of Said Punch, with yet more white-and-blue. Incidentally, does the design look a little like Mickey Mouse ears?























And that was how - what with discounts thrown at me, and all that lovely matt cream texture of the punches - I came to own a border punch and a butterfly punch. I have just learnt that the punches are made by EK, and I vaguely feel like I've been manipulated by a genius designer & marketer... but oh well, this is my Christmas present to myself! No need for wrapping, either!























P.S.
There was just 1 last (basic) acquisition to make...























The End
(for now)

The Sweetest Thing

Beautiful, waking up to the smell of freshly baked muffins. The sweet
scent of my mother's banana-chocolate muffins means I'll be having
what I like to think of as my continental breakfast. Yums.

The beginning of the end

We feasted at ikoi today.

At the end of November, I signed a rather insignificant looking piece of paper that said yes, I would be joining a new branch come Jan 2010. It has been in the pipeline for some months now and the day draws nearer...when I leave my first (real) job (ever) and move on to the next one.

It has been an eventful 9 years 5 months. Almost a decade - a long time to be in a place. And yet it has been so fast! A ride with ups and downs. Friendships gained. Countless farewell lunches later, it was finally my turn to have a farewell lunch today.

I'm not feeling mournful about the move - yet. I am rather excited and even a little scared of the changes coming. Moving from a place where I am very comfortable, to a place where I am slightly out of my depth. Time to tread water.

6 hours

I am a pretty good hoarder, so once in awhile I find it necessary to pack my room and take out the things I've squirreled away. Craft stuff, like this melted shell stamp I found this morning, don't last forever, sadly. So I have set up my "christmas workstation" and vowed to use the pretty things in my stash, to use the paper trimmings I made last year at chelle's, to the beautiful paper source labels I bought 3 years ago, to the cute stickers I've had for longer than that.

This being a public holiday (love it when it's right next to a weekend), I felt a sudden zestiness and got to work cleaning with a vengeance.

7am Awake! Yes, I am a morning person. Breakfast! Yes, I am also a breakfast person. A public-holiday-means-eggs-and-bacon-or something-like-that person. Scanning the newspapers.

730am As it usually happens, one thing leads to another so I start washing my makeup brushes and as momentum picks up, I start keeping this and washing that and before you know it, the activity spreads to my bedroom where I tackle the major pile of stuff which has lain there a whole week since the carnival. Phew.

10am Snack time - fruits: oranges, plums. I dunno, just some random detail that I might be amused to read about some time in the future.

In between - checking email. checking facebook. surfing some blogs. Finding an idea that we might use for my brother's surprise birthday (cup)cake(s), I drop a note to my cousin who is probably still asleep. Bum.

10:30am Inspired by photos in facebook, I remember that I meant to get some lomo applications for my iphone. I think I bought about 4 apps for 99cts each, including a very lame quiz game that is bound to be a hit with the cousins and assorted kids in my life. Surfing round takes time. Hit the sync button and on with the cleaning.

1110am There is a pile of stuff on the floor. Mess!!! But there is a method to the madness. And always, there is a plastic bag nearby in which stuff gets tossed. toss, toss, toss. Therapeutic. Bags get wiped and stored. Un-needed things are removed. Receptacles are repurposed. The floor begins to emerge again, like a beach on which the tide is receeding. Poetic eh, I just thought of that on the fly.

1230pm Lunch with the family. A lazy lunch. A chapalang type of lunch with porridge and leftover duck. And leftover ikea meatballs and chicken wing (yes, 1 chicken wing).

1pm I am updating my blog when my mum mossies in. She avoids using the computer as much as she can and prefers to outsource her online needs to me, her beloved offspring. Check the cpf rates, she instructs. Dad sent her a link to this autistic savant the other day, she says, check it out. Actually, she doesn't say 'autistic savant' - she says go into my email and the link will be there...nononono mum, i'll just google it. I have it in less than a minute (ty google) and she is impressed. So clever, she says. Well, it's not actually me, I'm forced to admit.

And so we watch a short clip of Stephen Wiltshire, whom you can read about right here. Hey a girl's got to check her sources. Very cool, and inspiring.

And that's just the first 6 hours. I've had a full day already!

Heart Craft

Last weekend, a bunch of my friends generously gave of their time, tools and craft materials at a craft stall in a church carnival. It's not your usual type of carnival stall but we figured we would have fun and even if no one bought anything, we could spend the time making our own Christmas cards...

No such luck! We were busy busy busy. Admittedly a little - ok a lot - disorganised at the start but we quickly warmed up and soon we were swamped with orders. These artistic activities take time and loads of creative juice, y'know.

It was a fun day, even if we were tired out by the end of it all. And we had a great time hanging out together. It was gratifying to see the notebooks being enjoyed by the people who bought them. Some people lingered around to see us beavering away, in the midst of our messiness. Oh, we were so messy! Some notebooks were meant as surprise gifts, including 2 that were specially commissioned by an uncle for his nieces in the US. They are somewhere out there, in a Christmas package! Other people stood in front of our work table and thought aloud of the people they could commission notebooks for.

I've always thought that people treasure things with their names on them a whole lot more. Personalised gifts are cool :)

p.s. we raised about $540 (from notebooks and some stuffed bears too), and it's all going to support community work among the elderly and disadvantaged families in the Tg Rhu and Old Airport Rd area :)

Wish I was...

I'm really not sure what I wish for.
To be on holiday? Or just more sane days?
To be high in the sky? Or down to earth?

Have been frightfully busy since I got back from Bali and what do you know? I'm booked on another holiday in May! Thank you Mr Tony "now everyone can fly" Fernandes! It is surreal, being booked on yet another getaway.

The Aforementioned View

Though of course, a photo doesn't do it justice. Bee-yew-ti-ful day.

One of my favourite lounging spots in the villa that we're staying in.
The view from the verandah is spectacular.

Right now I am
Looking at the great ocean view - nothing between me and Antartica.
And the magnificent white foam on the water - maybe about 600m out
from the shore. And seaweed farmers gliding elegantly about.
Feeling the gentle breeze, alternately cool and warm, on my skin and
my hair.
Hearing the sound of the waterfall and pool.

Wallpaper

Postcard from Bali

Life is good

Finally, a day of peace and quiet.

Monday, and an unplanned afternoon off

Unplanned, but good for the soul.

This afternoon I was...
Hearing: My two best friends talking and laughing.
Smelling: Fresh air at the Botanic Gardens.
Touching: Hmm. The little container of chilli sauce. Inside joke.
Seeing: Leafy green trees. Tourists strolling by with cameras in hand. Mothers enjoying the nice weather, and their children running around...ah, blissful childhood.
Tasting: Chicken teriyaki burger at Casa Verde. And fish and chips. And sausage and mash. As always, sharing food.

Inspiration for this post: I thought this blog entry was rather nice and decided to do my own!

p.s. 1 MORE WEEK TO GO! Whee.

Flowers & Prints

1. Many, many years ago, I bought a large print at ikea for the handy wall next to my office cubicle. It's still there - slightly faded, but its blocks of colour make me happy.

2. This week, I bought flowers to support fund-raising efforts at my work place. The nice folks who sold me the flowers were very enthusiastic and I passed the word round, so other people bought flowers and the office was abloom. Amazing what flowers do to a room.

3. Which brings me to the very nice prints I just saw here, from M+E.

"Because you're too old to buy art at ikea" - hmmm, maybe...

"Because white walls are boring" - but I like white walls! and other coloured walls...

"Because prints + flowers make a room" - Agreed!

p.s. I contemplated bring the flowers home for the weekend but they seemed to be doing so well in the cool of the office that I thought I'd leave them where they were. I hope they last past the weekend! It would be nice to have them welcome me back to work. Memo to self: flowers at work are totally worth it cos they last so much longer than at home - 5 days and counting...

Dreaming of pretty places

I'm dreaming of pretty, happy places. Breathtaking views. Moments with a capital M.
I'm thinking gorgeous horizons from high look out points. Sunny days with a seabreeze wafting up and feet resting pretty on green grass. I'm thinking fields and fields of clouds. Or rapeseed fields, fields of gold. I'm thinking french windows and cobbled streets and courtyards and quaint, beautiful things. There is so much beauty in the world :)

I am so looking forward to my holiday in 2 weeks' time!!!

Meanwhile, there is lots of eye-candy here, on a beautiful french house restoration, by a lady whose blog I read. Oh and I would love to go on a good, solid hike. Yes, I really want to get away! But then again I still believe that every day is an adventure. I'm looking for the beauty in each day.

Nutella (ella ella ella...)

ooh! I could think of slight alternatives to this yummy treat. Maybe I could manage a simple little roll. Reminds me of the waffle I had in Paris!

Tis a working weekend I'm afraid, and I have a few things to clear. However, I managed to do my quiet time (bliss), squeeze in some saturday surfing, blog updating and am gearing up to do my work. And as incentive to not dilly-dally, will be going to the airport this evening to welcome wen back from Hanoi (my cell group is going down to surprise her and the rest). Airport gallivanting, whee!

TTFN!

Carnival

Tis a beautiful balloony day on the historic grounds of st Andrews. It
used to be that a church steeple was the highest point in a village.
That has long passed here but it's beautiful anyway. I love green
lawns and white buildings!

De-cluttering

Was finally forced to clean up my hard disk which was choking from tonnes of photos and projects and whatnot. Into my trusty gold seagate harddisk they went. And my notebook breathed a sigh of relief.

Can't hardly wait

I'm counting down the weeks until the much-anticipated break.
There will be no lugging of work over to do.
There will be plenty of rest, unwinding, recharging.

My slightly dorky confession is that my e-ticket is already printed and has been neatly folded and stored in my passport holder - a luxurious-feeling item that makes me feel like I've got it all together.

Can.not.wait.

Retro Green

Our ancient lime/lemon squeezer is still going strong.
It is so cutely green!
It's a hot day, and we had limes in the fridge.
As they say, when life gives you limes, make lime juice...
Here's to a work-free weekend! Whee.

Work Week Interlude

My cousin B turned 11 today.
A bunch of my family stayed at the Sentosa chalets overnight.
This is the school holiday week, so the office is rather quiet.
I took the afternoon off and hopped over to meet them.
I had an idyllic afternoon.
Also did the Mega Zip and Luge. We had great fun.
I love it when I get a good day off.
Oh, and we ended off with an outing to coffee bean.