Tag Archives: Ireland

Preparations for the Lunar New Year

17 Jan

The Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year is one week away, omg! This time, I really take the cake leaving it until the very last minute to prepare to usher in the Year of the Rat. What a champion.

According to the Chinese zodiac, the Rat is the first animal in the 12-year cycle and 2020 is the year of the Male Metal Rat. Do find out what the Metal Rat Year means for you if you believe in Chinese horoscope as it differs for all Chinese zodiac signs. For me, well… good fortune will smile upon me if I put family and friends first!

On the homefront, the customary red cloth at the entrance of the house will be put up this weekend (told you it’s very last minute!) and the customary gifts finally prepared. This year the Reunion Dinner will be with my Mom and my sibling’s family before we head North the next day to hubby’s side of the family. And for the second year in the row, both our girls will not be present for the festive occasion.

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Beginnings and Endings

3 Jan

The new year started off rather quietly for us. We stayed home that evening and had a fun time cooking together, preparing dinner for a very leisurely paced New Year’s Eve meal. I felt this was better quality time instead of going out and be squashed in the crowds.

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Ushering in 2020 with some wine and cheese!

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Sautéd mushrooms, baked potato wedges, honey-glazed carrots, pork steak, greens and a pasta. Quite a meal!

By midnight after seeing some of the fireworks that we could see from our windows, we continued to watch Netflix, waiting to Skype with M2. After we finally heard from her, we went to bed after that! No revelry beyond as it felt just like any other day.

The new beginning is supposed to bring new excitement. We have not even fully digested the spirit of Christmas, New Year’s mood, suddenly at the turn, Chinese New Year things popped up! Decorations at the mall were updated, along with cookies, clothes especially Cheongsams and all things Chinese New Year related were on full display. I am so not ready yet for the next festive celebration.

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Roaring display of the lion dance at the mall

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The new beginning means an ending for us. The food trail is coming to an end as M1’s time with us is ending soon. It’s not sadness all over again but acceptance.

As we cherish the next two days before she leaves, we hope to spend quality time with her again in the future. It has been truly wonderful. Maybe we will visit her in the US again? Who knows? The year 2020 will be full of surprises.

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Looking Back at 2019

31 Dec

Well well… it looks like another year has gone by again. Time to file the memories away to recall later fondly and another set of annual resolutions to make. Or break. But the end of 2019 is much more than another year gone by, it’s the end of a decade!

Looking back, I’ve had my fair share of good memories and heartaches with many things happening in the year. After all, there’s 365 days. What stood out most for me can be summed up to these.

Both girls are all grown up, with one having graduated and continuing on with grad school in the US and the other just starting college in Ireland. Proud parent moments. Then there’s me reaching the milestone big five birthday. Happy me occasion.

My carving hobby resulted in a mixed growth in Gigglesville’s population this year. There were only 13 new Citizens to reach 194 (I couldn’t push myself to reach 200), the Whales grew to 48, with 30 new ones while the Gnomes had only two new giant ones to make three dozen as of 2019. It could be better.

But with this carving activity, there was a price to pay: my aggravated injuries. My golf game suffered as a consequence and for the first time, I find myself not giving the sport any priority anymore. I lost the will to excel when injuries persisted. Hopefully this mindset can change to a more positive one come 2020.

Besides the sports injury, my endometriosis pain was well, a pain to deal with this year. More acute than ever, I was at the mercy of a monthly recurrence, it was dreadful. So I started the 16/8 intermittent fasting diet to manage the painful backache and cramp attacks. With a controlled diet and a list of food to avoid, losing a fair bit of weight along the way was a booster and motivation too besides minimizing the agony. It helped.

Not everything was rosy and good though. My iPad Mini has been wonky and unreliable with each passing day, my MacBook Air had to be resuscitated but nothing compared to losing our beloved English bulldog, Rooney aka official pet number one to old age and sickness. It was the saddest day of our lives and suddenly, the house was emptier than ever and our lives changed.

Looking back, if I were to put 2019 into perspective of a phrase, ‘the good, the bad and the ugly’ aptly summarizes the year for me. Now as I ponder what to expect for the new year and new decade, I hope it will be one that focuses on ‘the good, the better and the best’. No resolutions needed though.

To everyone, here’s wishing you an awesome 2020 ahead, Happy New Year and Goodbye 2019!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Fancy some cheese?

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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.

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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.

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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!

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Suddenly It’s Too Big

23 Jul

Last year we planned some family time with M2 before she went off to Ireland to study. Since we decided on a beach outing in Penang, I dug up my old Sunseeker bikini. But guess what? As it had not seen much action the last few years, the rubber had hardened, thus no more elasticity and was out of shape. I was aghast, my favorite set.

So instead of fixing it (there wasn’t enough time), I decided to buy a new set but something different that came with underpads for the top piece. Now this was in December before I knew of this 16/8 diet.

Towards the end of February this year, I started the 16/8 diet and it’s been almost five months that I am at it and have lost weight generally, save for the couple of pounds gained lately due to a disrupted eating schedule. Two weekends ago, I pulled out the new set to try them on because a beach trip is coming up soon. And guess what? This time, the new set felt at least one size too big now because I, err… couldn’t fill them up!

Well, I certainly don’t want to grow back into it, now or ever, so I may have to buy yet another set (without underpads) or perhaps get the rubber fixed up on my old favorite set. We shall see…

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A Good Rest

23 Jun

For the first time since we arrived, we didn’t have to wake up so early. We woke up only when we were done sleeping which was really nice.

Yesterday we had to wake up at six to go to the airport. And it was tiring given that the night before, returning from the long drive back from Seattle, everyone slept at 1.00am or thereabouts. This morning we heard from M2 who has arrived safely back on campus in Ireland. Relief…

Today we plan to have a leisurely paced itinerary, starting off with a visit to the Farmers Market and then head towards Crater Lake National Park. Although city visits and their attractions are fun, I enjoy trail hikes and be with nature more because it’s more relaxing. No rush, no need to keep time and just breath in the fresh air. Aaaahhh… nice.

With the good rest, I am ready.

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What Do We Do Now?

22 Jun

After saying goodbye to M2, we left Portland and headed for Washington Square to check out Dick’s Sporting Goods. There I found a box of matte fluorescent golf balls which I had to buy. I’ve never seen a purple matte golf ball before. Pretty cool.

So colorful

We hung out at the mall and the Tesla showroom caught our eyes. There were two cars – the Model 3 and the Model X. The X was way, way cool with its super huge double iPad touchscreen panel and wing doors.

The super cool Model X

Checking out the Model 3

The 3 has its appeal too with its super minimalist look and equally huge iPad-like touchscreen panel which controls everything. So clever.

We left the mall to go get an Earl Grey boba tea at Bubble N Tea en route to TopGolf golf range for some fun. The weather by then was beautiful to be semi-outdoor, so we ended up spending an hour and a half there, hitting balls into targets. Quite a good workout!

But the day went by slowly as we waited to hear from M2 which we did when she finally arrived at Atlanta in transit to connect for the next flight to Ireland. Feeling assured that she’s safely on her way, we made our way back to Corvallis, had a home-cooked meal and prepared for an early good night’s sleep to recover from today’s trip.

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