Archive | Growing up RSS feed for this section

Fly Little One

9 Dec
img_6712-1

A week ago, we ‘adopted’ this little fella

Last week, we had an unexpected guest – a baby bird. It fell onto our neighbour’s side of the garden when it was learning how to fly. Luckily hubby rescued our feathered friend before the neighbour’s dog discovered it. We decided to nurse it until it got stronger to be able to take flight. Mummy Bird has been nearby ever since the accident, keeping an eye on us I suppose.

img_6752

It’s actually quite a cutie

Over the next few days, we cared for our little feathered friend, feeding it little worms for breakfast and dinner. And it has been eating well, delighting the both of us.

img_6791-1

img_6852

Getting stronger, it has progressed to eating bird seeds now

It’s been a week already and soon, we will be letting it go. Once it is strong enough and able to fly, we will definitely miss our unexpected temporary pet.

Tags: , ,

A Comparison

3 Dec

I must say I’m very impressed with M2’s illustration skills. For someone who did not have any formal training or art lessons prior to being accepted for the Honors design program (yes Honors, you read that right), she’s really good. I’m so glad we discovered her potential and nudged her in the right direction. Now she’s able to flourish.

I was curious as to how I would fare in comparison to her skills. So I attempted the same composition after she sent over the picture that she used for reference for this assignment.

img_6090

Same same but different

I guess I have a more sketchy approach because I don’t have the patience for details. Having worked for so long, I am used to conceptualizing my ideas in rough sketches or thumbnails which I will then brief my team. And they are the ones who will execute with details.

While my attempt was using pencil and hers was ink, and both pieces on paper, there’s no right or wrong when it comes to art. It’s a showcase of one’s talents and I sure am proud of my M2’s talents.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Contrasting First Years

29 Nov

When M1 went off to university four years ago, we had periodic pictorial updates on the classes she took. As she was a Food Science major, obviously it was food-related and the pictures were experiments that were conducted in the lab for her classes. From the preparation to the end result, we had interesting pictures of how to make Camembert cheese and smoked salmon.

img_5648

Fancy some cheese?

img_5650

Or perhaps smoked salmon?

Now with M2 having started her first year at college––she has completed her Foundation Studies with distinction––we are also getting updates on her classes. As she is a Design Communications major, similar to my degree but mine was called Visual Communications with an emphasis in Graphic Design, so obviously we are getting art and design-related pictures.

This being an assignment from her Illustration class. Dang… the details and patience! I am so glad she’s on the right path to nurture her creativity and shape her ability.

1dd3d726-c249-4f4c-a11f-bd8c13769bfe

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

The Chicken and the Eggs

22 Oct

It was apt that when my high school girlfriends and I went off to Langkawi for our girls’ trip, it was themed Celebrating Us. The reasons were obvious but there was a deeper meaning and this was reflected on the logo that I designed for our official tee shirt.

The chicken signified the year we were born – the Year of the Rooster and a golden egg represented a decade. As there are five eggs, obviously we are dinosaurs. Now you know why I always refer to myself as a dinosaur and even have a dinosaur tattoo.

I guess with this chicken and egg approach, it certainly clears the doubts as to which comes first as far as we are concerned. Without the chicken, the eggs would not exist and this trip would not have materialized especially with the significant milestone of five eggs.

 

Chicken&Eggs

‘MGS’ our school is the binding factor for us besides our birthdays

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Celebrating Us

21 Oct

When ten women gather for a down-memory-lane-high-school reunion, you’d be assured of it being a boisterous one, almost bringing the roof down. Staying at a resort owned by another school friend (from the primary school years) and a surprise 11th hour turn-up of another flying in to join us on the third night, it made the four-day bonding even more special and the celebration memorable.

Throw in good food, lots of alcohol, some shopping, silly card games, a commemorative tee-shirt, girlie chatters, an impromptu cooking session (which we enjoyed the end result tremendously after toiling over the stove) and of course the endless squeals and laughter, the gathering will be remembered for a long time. Even the weather was beautiful throughout our stay as it only rained on the island after we left.

All of us attended Methodist Girls’ School in Klang together since we were seven years’ old (Standard One) until we were 17 (Form Five). During that phase in our lives, some joined in later but it didn’t matter. That’s how we met and forged a friendship that lasted so many decades.

As time passed, some left for different schools or countries, others pursued different paths in education, careers and lives. Despite the distance but thanks to technology though, everyone reconnected. That’s what being friends is all about… remembering each other to keep in touch and stay connected.

This 2019 as we all reach the big five birthday milestone, we reflect back our times together with this trip, which was planned basically to celebrate our birthdays and to cherish our friendship throughout the decades. Through thick and thin, friends we have remained.

Celebrating Us is about us. Happy Birthday Gals!

21d02f2e-24a0-45a3-9c4b-1d78a31c8292

BFFs

Tags: , , ,

Bonding Time

18 Oct

Girlfriends are the best. They will be there for you in times of need and no questions asked. So you know you can always rely on them.

My high school girlfriends and I have been friends since the longest time I can remember. After all, we are all dinosaurs. It is for this reason that we planned this trip to celebrate our friendship and our significant milestone birthdays this year.

Although a bigger group would have been better, the fact that ten of us made it is truly wonderful. What is even more wonderful is that we are staying at La Pari-Pari resort, owned and operated by one of our classmate of the earlier school years.

La Pari-Pari

Our room

The laughter, besides the drinks and food, is what makes our friendship so treasured, indeed a good bonding time which started yesterday and will last until Sunday.

Seafood lunch

Dinner spread

A toast by the early arrivals

Tags: ,

Gone to the Dark Side

27 Sep

Two days ago, I found out that iOS13 can be downloaded already but truth be told, I wasn’t keeping tab on it. It was M2 who mentioned to me when I spoke to her. She’s doing great by the way, enjoying college life to the max in Ireland.

Anyway, I downloaded the update for my iPhone XR. And my… my… new features to learn! The biggest thing was of course the Dark Mode, which I enabled. Like a Jedi gone bad, I gravitated to the dark side. Bwahahaha…. I couldn’t resist. Seriously I enabled it to only activate after dark, perfect for reading in bed or low light environments, as what Apple envisioned.

The other new fun thing I discovered – creating my very own memoji. This feature was available since iOS12 but I never used it. According to reviews, it’s now more refined and more fun to use. I’m glad to have discovered it now as it’s rather delightful, and my memoji looks pretty close to the real me. I’m a good memoji I must say! Heheh.

The other thing that I was fiddling with was Shortcuts which somewhat works for me and not. Apps that I use constantly, I can’t seem to add to the menu. User problem? I think this will take me some time to figure out.

Nonetheless, I seem to embrace the latest changes well. Gotta keep up with technology even if this means leaping over to the dark side with glee.

img_5353

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Happy Anniversary to Us, Part 2

2 Sep

All good things must always come to an end. Our anniversary trip this year has just been awesome as we did everything from ‘A’ right through to ‘G’.

A good drive, hardly any cars

We left town on Friday for a round of golf at Royal Pahang Golf Club in Kuantan. A leisurely but fast-paced three hour round as there was hardly any other golfers. And dinner that night was at the famed Ana Ikan Bakar Petai for some cholesterol-laden seafood, a little indulgence. Obviously the 16/8 diet is out the window these few days.

Prawn, squid, stingray and the local ‘otak-otak’

The next day, we did the unthinkable, visiting the local mini zoo! Hahaha… but it was quite fun as we enjoyed the animals and the walk around the place, taking away some of the dinner guilt. When it was time to check in, we headed for Club Med in Cherating.

And the drinking, I mean fun began.

Drinks on Day One

Day two was a day of more drinking and activities. I managed to get some sun to even out my tan. And I chalked up 12 drinks. Pretty good with the first (beer) at 11.00 and the last (cocktail) 12 hours later, the bulk of it from 5.00pm onwards.

The one beer and 11 cocktails on Day 2

Rock climbing, sun tanning, hiking

Happy Anniversary to us! Cheers

We wrap up our getaway today and head back to reality. Hope the drive isn’t too bad. I look forward to what we will do next year when we celebrate the 25th milestone! Happy anniversary to us again.

Tags: , , , ,

Happy Anniversary to Us

30 Aug

It’s August already but it feels like 2019 is coming to an end, having gone by so fast with so many changes in both our lives this year. The most significant being M2 going off to college in January and M1 graduating in June. Tomorrow is yet another milestone, our wedding anniversary!

As we celebrate our 24th anniversary, I reflect back with mostly good and happy thoughts of our relationship and love for what we have built together as a team – our family, our home and our design studio.

Not every road to success is a smooth journey; there’s bound to be bumps and potholes along the way but that’s part and parcel of what makes a relationship work – to listen, to compromise and to sync as one to take on this exciting and sometimes challenging journey together.

Happy anniversary to us! And to celebrate the occasion, we are off for the usual alphabet escapade trip. Be back four days later… ta!

Tags: , , , , , , ,

A Celebration and a Road Trip

16 Jun

I have forgotten how tiring Commencement Day can be, after all I am a dinosaur and things of the past (my Commencement at NAU) sometimes elude my memories. We got to campus by 9.30am, looking for M1 in queue for a quick photo before making our way towards Reser Stadium and it was already packed.

We couldn’t get a spot at the lower section we wanted which was right behind School of Agriculture but we managed to get that same area at one level up. It was quite a challenge to find M1 but her decorated mortar board helped.

The ceremony took so long because there were so many speeches, several times the three of us dozed off. We learnt that this commencement, OSU has 7,492 students graduating! Wow. This figure is inclusive of their other campus and online programs, on top of all the three degrees – PhDs, Masters and Bachelors. However on the field today, there’s slightly over 4,000 graduating students in attendance to receive their certificates. Very impressive numbers nonetheless for the 150th Commencement.

We got home at 3.00pm and then we had to go out again for a private tea party celebration hosted by M1’s professor. Spent a good two and a half hours there before we had to excuse ourselves for our family celebratory dinner. We had tapas and dessert which were all bursting with strong flavors. Loved the choices we selected.

Our tapas and drinks

Dessert was oh so yummy!

When all obligations are done and checked off the list, we had to pack for tomorrow as we will start our road trip! Yay. It will be fun because they are places that we’ve never been to before and M1 will play host to show us. After all the excitement died down and packing done, it was 1.15am before I called it a night.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →