Angry Day = Productive Day?

Today, even though it's an ANGRY day... (I shall save you the trouble of knowing the reasons, less info, less frustrations sometimes), it has been pretty productive for me..... Well, I learnt how to make the vanilla ice-cream cookies from Mum over the phone this morning, started doing it right away, and finished it with a total of over 300 or 400 pieces....did not count.....(photo above).

Baking them got me really exhausted, but I am crazy enough to start sewing the 'KUNG FU SHIRT' for Z to be worn on Chinese New Year! And I finished it 45 minutes ago! Double YAY!

Whoooshhh!
I still have Mom-In-Law's qi pao top to sew, Maia's 2nd qi pao dress too! On top of many many other chores, OMG! (Will show photos once these are all done!)

Many a time, people ask me how I find time and energy to do all these on top of handling the two babes, lunch and dinner, EVERY THING basically.....(including the labrador at the backyard:( ), well, when the two babes are not interested to do their own thingssss....i let them join me....like this! (see??) Even if it means getting the entire floor (almost) covered with baking flour..... sigh....

As for where I get the energy to do all these extrasss?? I really dont know....but I suspect it's my passion that drives me all these while! How I wish passion drives many other things!



Good Nite! Happy Sunday!

The 12 Feet Long Table Runner

Yeah, have you ever come across table runners that are long enough for a bulky 6-seater dining table? I have not. Unless of course, I buy 3 pieces of the 6 feet long ones and lay them on the shorter side across the table, but that's gonna cost me RM200, if not more!

So, being the 'waste-not-your-scrap-fabrics' kinda person that I am, I decided to attempt a 'patchwork' 12 feet long table runner for the upcoming Chinese New Year (14th Feb 2010) this morning after sending both babes to school.....

And, thank God my time and effort did not go down the drain! At 11a.m, this is the outcome:






Total cost incurred:
RM10 (indonesian printed sarung as the back liner),
RM5 (checkered modern songket that I used to make my 1st qi pao the other day),
while the others are just remnants from my throw pillow project! :D

= RM15.00 only (approximately USD5.00, or less!)


If such a long table runner is available in stores, it would seriously cost around RM100 - RM200, if not more! Glad I attempted it this morning!!!! :) Okie, off to cook lunch I go!

Till Our Toes, Shoulders and Pocket KOYAK!

Whooooshhhh!!! After a poket-koyak (metaphorically speaking lah) shopping spree in KL with mum, 2 sistas and 1 brader, I am back!!!!! Got home around 10pm, and early next morning, Z and I continued our big DIY project and thankfully we managed to finish it by 2am the next day :O

To sum up our shopping trip?

*Day 1: Mid Valley
*Day 2: Sg Wang
*Day 3: 1 Utama
*Day 4: Ikea, Ikano & The Curve
*Day 5: Mid Valley, again!
***On top of all that, we even managed to squeeze time to shop for house items for lil brader who just moved in their new rented apartment, not to mention squeezing 2 single mattresses in the Crv with him seated on top the mattress in the boot! :O (While us 4 ladies sat in front) hehe...


Number 1!
For next year's trip, I have decided that we should all keep RM50 from each and everyone on the 1st day we arrive, before we start shopping.... :D (reasons? hehe....I guess you'd be able to make a few wild guesses already lah....LOL!)

Number 2!
We shall wear nothing else on our feet but featherweight but stylish enough sportie shuzziess!!!
(REASON? I had to buy a pair of shoes at the end of 1st day, then another different type on the 3rd day. The old one made my toes wanna break!!! The former of the new, gave me blisters after 1 whole day, while the latter of the new, saved me from being cacat-ed!)

Number 3!
We shall all bring and carry only large handbags that would be able to store many many things, no clumsy, tiny weenie handbags please! It's darn complicated on the flight home! :P

Number 4!
It's "No-plastic-bag-day" on Saturdays in the state of Selangor, REMEMBER to bring our own foldable grocery/shopping bags! If you forget, you'd have to buy a RM2 non-woven yellow bag from Parkson like me! hmmmm........OR, carry all your purchases with your hands, even if you buy over hundreds, no kidding!

Number 5!
DO NOT BE LAZY to drop off your heavy shopping bags in the car, especially if the car is just 2 escalators down!!! Else, you'd end up carrying those bags the entire day for over 10 hours like me! And do not bring 2 bottles of H2O in your handbag, coz you simply will regret it, and also, end up like those coolies carrying bags of rice at the loading dock! :P

Number 6!
It's actually very funny and fun to go on a shopping spree with your family members, as long as they are over 18 and can take care of themselves, thus you won't have to worry about having your name called by the attendant at the INFORMATION COUNTER!!! It's even better if they are over 22, and have started earning a living, thus, can chip in on food & travel expenses! :D
LOL!

Can't wait to plan for the next pre-CNY shopping trip! hahahaha.....

OFF i go!

I shall be in 'OFF' mode from tomorrow afternoon onwards....till next Tuesday! Off to Ikea, The Curve, 1U, Mid Valley, and maybe KLCC if there's time! And of course, I shall not fail to pay a visit to my favourite Chili's restaurant!!! Unbeatable favourite, from its price down to its broccoli! :D

This, is Chili's Monterey Chicken, the only thing I order!
Topped up with a Margharita Presidente :D

And Here SHE is......

And here she is, the duck egg blue floral qi pao that I made for my sista the XYJ.







Don't you just love the 'vintage-y' feel of it? Well, I do....to bittssss!!!

SNEaK PeEk @The PLAYroom

If u have been following my blog, you'd know that the ex dining room is now under conversion....into a playroom for the babes....I won't show the full picture yet, coz a few things are not done yet....dont kill the joy of revelation, rite?? hehe....

So, here's some sneeeeeeekkkkpeeeekkkkkk for u!








Well, for this project, I am working under a strict budget of not more than RM100 + reusing things around home + using things that are 'in stock', so it's not gonna be a TOTAL makeover of course......your RM100 can buy a lot meh? Mine cannot worr....

Revamps of my IKEA items

If your home, like mine, happens to NOT be a show house (coz show houses are not meant to be lived in by humans, it's meant to be on display, thus the lack of ugly eye-sore items), you'd understand how much storage space (hidden or non-hidden) we need to hide those unsightly groceries, toiletries, handphone chargers, you name it!

To make matters worse is when you have pieces of furniture that are no longer in use, well, coz the 'baby' has grown up and does not need her diaper change! So here you see the old changing table that we got from Ikea when Maia was born, the SNIGLAR changing table. I have recently turned it into our 'Butler' counter in the family hall upstairs :D, 'butler' coz it helps keep many things in place, our chargers would go on top when in use, drinking water and its cup, extra toiletries or towels would go under and it also fits my laundry basket too!!!!




But to let it wide open showing all the above items would be such a no no.....it's really a sight pollution, at least to me:P, so, i recycled the panel curtain that is no longer suitable for my bedroom window, and made it into THIS!!!


Thought it's nothing fancy, I love how it hides many things in it, and is super easily accessible! I only made 'curtains' for the front, and left side coz I figured sooner or later, either hubby or babes would pull down the one on the right since it's the access point to the laundry basket, judging from how they use the basket on normal days.... :P So I might as well skip making it!
Oh, it's super easy to remove the 'curtains' for washing if they ever get stained, just tear it off......
kidding....I used velcro to attach em onto the changing table, that's how easy!

******

Another revamp is of the Ikea APA toy storage box. I made a seat padding with elastics on the underside and all you need to do is slip it on! I also plan to attach 2, maybe 3 small hinges to the lid (the seat) so that it's easier for the babes to use, coz right now, once they take off the lid, it will go elsewhere!!! Hmmmmm........




Now sitting pretty and cozy in their new playroom, with BabyPo, Pocoyo and Elli on top of it :D

Duck Egg Blue Qi Pao: WOrk in ProgreSS!

To sum up my days & nites of late?

Sure, this shot below was how I ended my night at almost wee hours. That's Xiao Yan Jing's qipao fabric btw, I am making one for her, and I am anxiously hoping it will turn out CORRECT! :P and btw, Xiao Yan Jing also happens to be sista#2, ie. the one who grew up with me (coz our age gap is only 2 years) causing me kenak blame for most things when she cried boo-hoo-hoo.....very much like Maia and Kyra nowadays! LOL!


4+am, that Xiao Yan Jing MINI (aka Maia, very contrary, coz her eyes aren't smallish...LOL),
decided to fake "MUMMY GAI PEI!!! MUMMY GAI PEI!!!!" wailing her hearts out asking me to go to her room and put her blankie on! And AS USUAL (seriously), once I entered their bedroom, her agenda changed.....from putting blankie on, it became "MUMMY I WANNA GO UR ROOM SLEEP" :O

***Sometimes, her fake 'reason' is "MUMMY I WANNA GO TOILET PEE" while she's wearing diaper????? WORSE? Occasionally, it's "MUMMY!!!!! LIZARDDDDDDDDD!!!!!!"
or "SPIDERRRRRRR!!!"

And once you entered their bedroom , it's a trap actually. HMMMMM.......

Okie, back to topic.....I am sure that entertained those of you who did not have to wake up every middle of the nite to 'entertain' this little actress of mine! :P

This photo below IS my current 'workstation' aka STUDIO :D, one that I am still trying to hide-the-ugly-show-only-the-nice, been trying for a few days.....i guess ugly stuffs will remain ugly!?



And because i vowed to myself to get XYJ's qipao done by this morning, before 12noon (coz that's when my little brat + her sweet elder sista would be home from kindie), I had to brush through COFFEE.....and here it is...next to my maccie (aka the macbuku). See how many hot glue sticks I have? Few days ago there were double this amount actually.

And of course, the loyal fan of the F-word!

Another shocking perspective of the "UNDER re-ORGANIZATION" guest room cum studio! Sure, I will post up the AFTER shot....if there is one:D


Okie, here I come duck-egg-blue-with-rose-pink-flowers-qipao!!!

My RIbbons Organizer

I think this little DIY is so simple, I don't have to elaborate :D




Tadaaaaa!!!! Not only giving my good-for-not-much Loccitane gift boxes that I am not willing to throw or give away its purpose in life...LOL! It's also looking cute and mysterious! haha!

SAVING FOR DA FUTURE!

You know how it is when space ads around the malls or MRT (or LRT) stations are not filled up and they would advertise for ad spaces? Well, I've been reminded by 'well-meaners' that almost 50% of the photo frames around our home is empty several times, LOL! SO, I've sorta filled the frames up a bit......



With this......


If any of you are wondering, at all....
I leave some of the frames on our walls, EMPTY, on purpose,
not because I do not have enough prints to hang around, pun intended :P
My reasons are simple really....
I just wanna keep 'room' for the future.
Yeap, just that.

Of course I know I should not be keeping space for
photos from 10 years ahead, duh! but at least for 2 years maybe?
Before I find new and bigger walls to create another wall of frames..hehe!!!

32 days only to CHINESE NEW YEAR???

32 days to Chinese Lunar New Year 2010, Year of the Metal Tiger :P

OMG, seems like days are flying PASS me without me noticing, man!!!
It has got to slow down a bit, else, I won't be able to tackle all the PRE-cny chores/tasks/projects...alamak!!!

To understand why the Kanceong-ness? Well, I will be away from 20th to 25th, and the list is LONG.


In random order of importance:
1) Paint, no, repaint our white doors....how many are there? lemme count.....ok, i shall limit it to FIVE max!!! the ones up there shall be less prioritized then! And I have this secret itch wanting to paint our 'last door' FIRE ENGINE RED (it is what it is, the last door as you enter the house then out from the back where the laundry-pantry room is!)

2) Finish the BIG PROJECT that Z & I started last week....he's now 'busy', so we can only continue the 2nd half on 20th Jan! hmmmmphHH!!! All I can say is, this one is one heck of a big DIY project, for us.

3) Make CNY cookies, for the home, MIL, Godma, Mum...alamak....haven't decide which or what to make though...hehe...I am not a cookie cookie person.

4) Spring clean the entire house, myself.

5) Make a table runner for my dining table....I can't buy one even if I have the budget lah, my dining table is wayyyyy long.......and even if i do find one super long, it will be at least RM80....sooooo nottttttt worth paying, since I can make one myself!

6) Hang up the RED LIL LANTERNS...barulah ada CNY feel...i like i like.... :D

7) Find and smuggle home a dead (hopefully) beautiful tree branch of medium size, and fake a cherry blossom tree, ala Christmas tree lerr.....then the babes can hang all the CNY-ish baubles...on the tree!

8) lemme try to recollect myself.............*pengsan******

Y.I.B's Christmas Wedding @Miri

The wedding that got all of us achy here and there due to the 15 + 16 hours bus rides to and fro....
all the way to M.i.R.i to our close cousin's wedding. If not because we all played together since toddlerhood, I don't think I'll forgive him for the tormenting bus rides that caused my acute gastritis to resurface......wai seh......no lah, just kidding.....about the former of course...the latter is for real...so real till i nearly fainted on NYE!!! That's really a shame coz we all had to miss NYE's countdown, thanks to gastritis...sigh!

Anyways, I think for this post, I don't have to elaborate much on ALL the other stuffs, coz.......
you can read all about it HERE! LOL! Tenkiu, XYJ!!! *Wink wink********

The other stuffs not mentioned by her post will be here!

First up....
Women in kebayas......Mum and Me...my very very very 1st and only kebaya as of now....
That Christmas/wedding morning, Ger (aka Sis#3) was supposed to help me bun my hair, but due to time constraint, they all had to rush over to the bride's side as Ji Muis (Bride's teammates) and I ended up bunning it myself! To be honest, the bun was slightly out of place, too much to the left side, so i got no choice but to fix the problem by clipping a matching green silk rose to the right side....tadaaaa...balanced! hehe.....(too bad I forgot to snap a pix of it).

Godmum and me.....


If you have visited Xiao Yan Jing's post on this wedding, you'll know what this photo below is all about.....so I shall not repeat after her k... hehe....


And here's all of us after the tea-ceremony at Y.I.B's house.


Mother of the bride, the aunt we grew up 'bullying' (sort of, in a nagging way only mind u)....Haven't seen her for 4 years+....this wedding gave us the chance to meet again!


And this is, almost ALL of us, (L-R): Stella, Ger, Boy, Kelly the bride, Y.I.B the groom, Me, Ling, Lynna, Mobby, Chan Chung (better known as Chung Ko), Mum, Dad, Alex the K-pa, Celia the K-ma, Qi Qi, Ah Jia.


This is my 'original' family: (L-R) Ger, Boy, Me, Xiao Yan Jing, Mum and Dad, just like old times :D


All I can say, as much as I hate the entire TO & FRO bus trips there, I am glad I went. The trip itself (coz it's minus Zac and the babes) let me reminisce our younger days, say...ermmmm....10+ years ago? When it's just 4 of us plus mum and dad, with no worries of any particular little human(s) :D

I wish Y.I.B and Kelly a long and happy marriage in the years ahead of them, and also hope that Kelly will be able to adapt and fit into the new family asap (since she's from Singapore). Good Luck!!! :)

PAUSE........busy PEAR ahead......

Busy.....
..............
................
..................
.....................................
.......Q.........
}............
>........
......

yeah, I am wearing my "BUSY" hat at the moment...
(can't see the 'half face' of me wearing a hat with the word BUSY on top?)

:D
Zac's gonna fly back KL for a day trip tomorrow,
and yes, we have actually started our DIY BIG PROJECT since yesterday....
Now doing it still...will take quite a few days actually....
I can only hope it turns out RIGHT. period.
And, btw, it's 40 days (ONLY) away from Chinese Lunar New Year, the TIGER year!
Freaking speedy time flies heh?!

Be RiGHT back!!!