dec 5-9am

We were setting up for a little Xmas coffee morning and Smidapaper was to provide a make and take for all the IWA ladies, I passed the huge french doors of The Mansion, a beautiful old building restored and now a restaurant, and the view took my breath away. I had to go outside to take a picture on my way out.

Parked a little way from this old coffee shop where we stopped for breakfast. Passed by an old heritage house and had to stop to bask in the morning light, just for a moment, and steal another gem, this time the carved wrought iron gates, with my precious cargo parked in front. So much to see when you're looking!


5 days into the project and my desk is a huge mess! Tomorrow! I will clear it tomorrow.

dec 4- date night (in black and white)

Tuesday date nights usually start here.


We walked and talked, until the sun went down, then we decided that hawker food was what we wanted.

The photos were not meant to be b&w but as I was doing my page, Philip was playing with my I Photo and I thought they were rather nice. Since I was in a hurry, it being late and having an early day tomorrow and knowing I'll be working late, I didn't change the photo on my layout. Maybe I will, at some point. When you use black and white photos, you don't have to worry about the colours. Everything goes, especially good if you have a 2 page layout or a multi photo layout. Go ahead and give it a try.

dec 3-decorated

At the end of the day, at the end of the chores and everybody's agenda, we finally put up the decorations on our tree. This always brings back memories. some of the decorations are really old, but all have a story. We remembered, and the 'kids' made a lot of noise. I was hoping we would trim the tree to Josh Groban's mellow voice , instead Disney Christmas was chosen =)
I loved having to get up the ladder to reach the top of the tree and at the end, Sarah was given one present to open.

the rhythm of the ordinary

You know how when you have something exciting to look forward to and then when it's over ...
For me it was the Bazaar and the whole idea of doing the December book, then the Bazaar passed and I started with the book, Monday rolls in, in it's ordinary fashion, with the laundry and the weekly planning, bills to pay, lists, you know, just another lacklustre Monday. And yet, isn't this the stuff that life is made of?
Surely we need the plain old days, the downtime, the ordinary walk in the gardens, the wholemeal toast and jam days.


The rhythm of the ordinary brings comfort, as you fluff the cushions, you appreciate the ones that sat in the chair,when you take down the laundry , you notice that the flowers are blooming, just an ordinary Monday and someting to scrap about.
Surely!

dec 2

The day of the bazaar has come and gone. After the work comes rest. Most well deserved, especially for I-Mei.

Today, Andrew made everyone smile. Our husbands proved their worth by working from early in the morning. On a Sunday!
Esther taught everyone that you can work while being sick and still not complain. Ming sold his Artmaker kits.

I was happy to be home early, and to have a chance to take a nap and to have time to scrap. Some days need more than 1 page!

dec 1

The thing about committing to scrapbooking a month is this; your life comes under scrutiny. Everything becomes sharper, clearer. I walk around with my journal and my camera, not wanting to miss anything. Everyday life becomes intesified. Things you might have taken for granted are looked at with new eyes. It seems like everything slows down, not in reality, but things are perceived that way. Because you are living in the moment, paying attention.
I started working on my book at 2am, Dec 1st. I had meant to get a head start, preparing ahead. Ha ha! In a perfect world!
Well at least I started. I prepared the first page and the whole day, paid close attention. To what Sarah said when she got home from guitar lesson. To how it felt to walk down the stairs from the store, all set for the bazaar. My friend Caroline sent me an e mail that ended, "Don't wait for the storm to be over, learn to dance in the rain."

Committing to an artistic or creative pursuit for 31 consecutive days takes discipline. (Which I lack, but will wear for a month)
It will change you. Refresh you. Teach you. The result will be so much more than a beautiful memory book. But don't take my word for it. =)

maya road

I had the privilege of attending a workshop taught by Caroline, the founder of popular U.S. based scrapbook brand.
There was much to learn, the projects were beautiful and the class was run smoothly , very well prepared and professional.
Most of all the people were really great! Thank you Caroline and all the folk at MWL, you ladies are rare gems.

I came home inspired and motivated. Still glowing from the break and happily jumped back into my routine.

outside| looking in

Martha Beck, a life coach and contributor to Oprah magazine says that we are not equipped for the environment we live in.
I really have been feeling that lately. Too much of everything =overwhelm. How then to find balance?
Take a look from the outside in! Just when you think you haven't got another minute to do another thing...
On impulse, I bought tickets to "Bee Movie". Now I don't watch TV and hardly EVER go to the movies. My schedule was getting ridiculous and I'm going away this weekend, What possessed me?
Turned out to be just the therapy I needed. Just sitting there, mindlessly. No other agenda except to chill! It wasn't a great movie but the rewards surely were.

I guess we need to get out of our routine now and then, even when we think we just can't. Take another route. Road. Door.
When we came home I thought I might go out the other door and look in. This door leads to a commom garden and we hardly ever use it. It had just rained. The air was crisp and cool and there was a gentle wind blowing. I stood for a while looking in, at my home , this place where I live. and then I stood some more. How refreshing. How simple.


I-mei and I will take this a bit further. We are going to spend the weekend being students and shoppers. We can't wait .

by the twinkling lights of the tree

We've had the same short , stumpy tree for years. Last year I almost bought a new tree, I wanted to have a tall towering tree, the kind you had to get up on a ladder to dress up. Philip convinced me to wait. "Next year," he said "in our new house".
So I waited, and finally the tree is up . 8 feet tall. We only put up the lights, so far, and it was so pretty we camped in the living room in the glow of the pretty lights.

sheer mini book

Oh what a week! I feel like I've been to battle. I wrote in my planner this morning. 'Note to self: Have a really great day!'
And a reminder to set aside some creative time. AND, I managed to finish the sheer mini book that I started.


I had fun with the sheer flowers from Maya Road , originally intending to paint them but in the end thought they looked good as they were and just added some buttons, brads and epoxy centres. With brads they work great as a sheer layer over journaling.



I started with a Making Memories album and changed the ribbon tie from white to red, to keep with the colour theme of red, white, cream, black and brown. And to meet the approval of the teenage subject ;)

I think she liked it.

trees, chipboard & sheers

Do you notice that even with so many scrapboking supplies & products out there, there are a few that you fall in love in and keep using for some time? I'm loving trees & chipboard right now. Decided to make this the theme for the book I'm doing on our new home. Here's a layout I did about 'Moving day". I'm also very much into neutral backgrounds, mostly white, grey or brown.

Another trend I'm loving now? Sheers! I'm working on a mini book using these elements. Not sure if it will be a class, though. Maybe if I can get all the materials. Anyway, it's not nearly done but I'm excited about the possibilities. Here's a peek at the early stages.


I'd love to know what you all are loving right now. =)

Max

Our Rhodesian Ridgeback pup arrived from Australia on Friday. Philip has been waiting for him even before he was conceived.
Little did he know what he would be in for. So far, he's been in the pond (a lot) uprooted some plants, destroyed some others! Now Philip has to walk the other two and then go out again with Max, but he sure is sweet. A lot of scrapbooking moments coming up...

where i work

I'm the ony person I know who has four desks! I have two identical Ikea tables in my home office/ studio, where I spend productive time in the mornings and late at night. There are glimpses of my creative table scattered on my blog. The other one, where paperwork , planning, ordering,etc gets done...I'll show that to you sometime , when it's er, neater.


This is where I work when I'm at , well, work.I have two desks here as well. The desk at the far end is where the serious stuff happens. From here I can see the shop through a window. I gaze longingly in that direction sometimes, wanting to be out there where the people are. Who knew that a scrapbook store would generate so much paperwork . (Those are the files you see to the right of my table) I actually have two jobs, the other related to the car business.

Now the other table is where the fun is. Here I 'receive' shipments, do photography for the website,class schedules, pricing- which means , if I'm in a good mood, products go out to the store cheaper, (just kidding) . Here we brainstorm , share ideas , make decisions.

If you don't see me in the shop, I'm probably at some desk or other. And if I'm not there, I could be out walking. Recharging! =)

me today | minibook

I started a minibook in June . It was meant to be be a 'stop and see where I am' kind of idea. It took me a while to pick out the photos and I stuck them all in. I used a KI memories 4 by 4 hearfelt album. Really sweet. I found out that this tiny album packed 20 sheet protectors which meant 40 pages to fill. So much for 'mini' !

Four months have passed and I was determined to get somewhere with this. I 'm full of ideas and love starting things. It would be good to finish some of what I started. It took longer than I would have imagined, even with the very simple theme. real life, was the focus and I only used some ribbon, chipboard alphabets , 3 sheets of patterned paper, 1 sheet of cardstock and journaling tags for the story. Plus the odd flower here and there.




With a break for Sunday dinner, I was done by 2. I am happy with the result. Not so much the 'art' but what the little book represents. My life, today. And a sense of accomplishment at having finished what might have been another abandoned project.

For this I am grateful

After the 'day off', there were piles of work to plough through before I could go on my 4 day mini vacation.
Destination: My home town, Singapore. =) I managed to get most of the stuff on my "must do today list" done and by 1 am I knew
that I had to call it a day.
Our journey started at 6am and we were at Tuas in 6 hours, and in our hotel and having lunch at 1pm! One of my favourite phrases; Enjoy the journey! This pic made me think of that.

When you travel the same road everyday a mini vacation opens your eyes, shifts your view and renews your goals.Tiring as it was, I came away refreshed and as always, learnt something. People whom you've known for sometime can disappoint. People whom you hardly know, go out of their way with their sincerity and their giving spirit. And this : not something new- the guy who drove all the way and back just to sit with me in the waiting room at my doctor's appointment, Sarah- quite happy being two feet away while I work, even on vacation, and the guys back home , who hold everything together while we're gone, these are my real treasures. And for this I am grateful!

day off | after the fact

At the start of the day I had a list of things I wanted to do.
Not a to do list. More of a might do list. It looked something like this:
1. nothing
2. organize my room
3. exercise
4. eat ice cream
5. scrap
6. read
7. write
8. take pictures
(and on and on..)
I started with 15 items, cancelled 2 of them because it rained, and I still have 5 things on the list but I'm sure I'll be able to squeeze in a tiny ice cream and some reading before the day ends at midnight.



I had a lovely day and I'm very grateful! I finished 2 layouts that I started yesterday, just simple ones about the smidapaper journey. Then I came across one of Ali's old newsletters and took the challenge to make a page highlighting 3 to 5 reasons why I'm beautiful. SO weird.That was really hard! I've never thought of that. Well I tried, and I had fun.
I cleared my scrap space, well part of it anyway. Of course some of the stuff is on my work desk. Ha ha!


At lunch time, I was brought a most magnificent and complete, Japanese lunch, complete with my favourite plates and wasabi.
The rest of the day was restful. Full, yet balanced. Tranquil.
I am refreshed.

day off!

Tomorrow is my day off =)

In our house we have a few interesting events. One of them is this: "Day Off!"
Now you may be thinking, what's so unique about that? Well, for us, a "Day Off" is really a day "Off". Not just a day off from work but a REAL day OFF!

So on my day off, I am free from all my responsibilities. The spouse whose day off it isn't, will take care of the following:
1.the house
2.the meals
3.any fetching and sending of children, parents or pets
4.keep the children, parents & pets out of the way of the one, (ME! in this case) who is enjoying the Day Off.

Extra bonus. I may use the option of being driven to any location (within reason), such as favourite spa, bookshop, garden to avoid the unnecessary stress of driving and parking.
Added bonus. If I choose to stay in my study and scrap all day, food requests will be discreetly and miraculously brought up at regular intervals. Aah, this is the life !

If you've never had a real Day Off, it's time to negotiate. ;)

Let you know how it goes.

details

I have been living in our new house for almost two months and have never sat in my little balcony.

I haven't been well so I stayed home this morning. I sent everyone out. My soul had a feast just taking in the little details. It started out sunny, but soon rain clouds moved in.I love the rain. I made ginger spice tea, with leaves, in a beautiful white Wedgwood bone china mug. I stared out at the sea, blocking out the construction going on that would soon replace this awesome sight.

Everyone is crazy busy these days. Life coming at you in all directions. Stuff coming into your house faster than you can put it away. Even the things that are supposed to be fun, like updating your digital photos and i pod, making Christmas cards, visiting people you love, become chores when time is limited. Well, time will always be finite. One of my favourite books,
"Time Management from the inside out" by Julie Morgenstern, suggests that organizing your time is like organizing your closet. You can only put so many things in. Again, we're down to the choices we make.

May I suggest that you don't wait until you're not feeling well to celebrate the details.To do some of the simple things that you've been meaning to do. To walk around your home, linger in your kid's room, take in the smells and be grateful for all the tiny things that make up your beautiful life. Then maybe make a page about the details.









Have a beautiful weekend!

my turn

Today it was my turn to send Sarah to school. I am very grateful for all the times it is not my turn.

Here's my favourite paragraph from "Life of Pi".

"It rained."

rainy weekends & thoughts afire

At work , we observe all public holidays. This Saturday,was a holiday but we decided to open the store. It rained most of the day, but people still came. The rest of the weekend was slow paced. I didn't get much scrapping done, unless you count finishing a sample for an upcoming class. I spent a huge amount of time on this project and I learnt much in the process. Seeing myself half my life ago, through the pages of this minibook set so many thoughts afire, all burning in different directions and finally settling to a glow, a realization of a few things.

I was glad to discover that dreams do not die. And that I am as full of wonder as I was then. I have not lost the ability to pull myself back before spinning out of control. I am one of those people who thinks she can do everything. (I know one young lady with similar tendencies) Maybe I can, but at what price? I wrote in that little minibook until 4am on Saturday, no, Sunday morning. Many things were clear when I put down my pen. Answers to questions. Choices resolved.



I have been working for more than 8 years without more than a week off at any time, and even then no more than once a year!
In the last , almost 2 years since smidapaper started, we have not been away anywhere as a family. This was not the dream. Sometimes we do things because other people want us to. Maybe because we can, because we have the resources, capabilities.
Philip & I used to say, "When we have our own business, we can go grocery shopping when everyone is at work!". That is funny!

October is as good a time for resolutions as any. Or goals at least. It's all in the choices, This one is mine: Find a better balance between the work that I love and the rest of my life.(I choose the word' find' deliberately, for something that is lost) As I stared at the younger version of me, I promise her what she promised all those years ago. Always have the freedom to make choices. I have to say AMEN to that.

I spent the rest of the rainy weekend just hangin'. Taking a nap. Putting songs in my i pod. Eating wasabi nuts. Walking by the sea. Writing.

I will work with all the vigor and zeal as always . Ditto for the rest of my life.