Friendships are gold.

Ok, I must admit, I came from one of the notorious class back in secondary school.  We had the super duper classic "ah bengs" and "ah lians" of our times - oh wait a minute, back then in the 1980s, I think it was pretty cool to be one!  I wasn't "one" per se. Some of us here tried the look but failed terribly at it!

Despite our differences in pursuits having left school, the camaraderie we have when we come together every year makes our friendships unique.  Geez.. it's been 23 years! 

 

Though not all of us are that close to one another, I'm really happy that we have been there for each other one way or another. From the time we started our first job, to attending each others' weddings and celebrating the births of our children. We all have busy lives but we make it a point to "arrow" someone in the group to plan our annual gathering. I think it's a mean feat every time we gather!

It's also really awesome that our families come together to celebrate our friendship with us!  We've seen each others' children grow up and many are already in their youths!

The greatest feeling I have when we meet up is that we can pick up from where we left from. That is, from school days!!  And there's no doubt that it makes one feel all teenager again.  And we're on the prowl searching for more long lost classmates/schoolmates to join us in the next gathering!

Someone in the group suggested an overnight retreat somewhere so that we can yak our hearts out. I'm for it! Now who is the next one to be arrowed?

Here's the perfect way to sum up our friendships!

Image source : http://www.comments20.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Friendship-Quote-118.jpg

Till the next post, have a blessed week!

For the Love of Bali

We visited Bali twice over the last 2 years. The first time was just the 4 of us in 2010 and the more recent trip in 2011, we went together with friends.  Both times, we discovered new places, new towns and by not having that much time to explore the whole island, it has left me hungry for more!

Like what Regina describes, its a wonderful mystical place to be.  This post was also inspired to welcome Amie back home from her very recent trip there! :)

In this post, I'm just gonna share with you some sights, moments and hopefully, you can virtually taste the food with these memorable photos that I took during our 2 trips. 

After going through all these photographs, I see no reason why we shouldn't be back there soon. When ah, my dearest hubby? *blink blink blink* 

Till the next post, have a blessed week!

2 weeks of creative fun! Decorating Photo Frame with Polymer Clay

I am so pleased to be able to be part of this crafty fun initiated by Alicia from An accidental homeschooling mum!  In this post, my daughter will decorate a photo frame with polymer clay. Since she is 10 years old, she is able to work independently under minimal supervision from me.  

*Polymer clay has a feel of play doh. It has to be oven baked to harden. It is non-toxic and safe for children although a dedicated oven is required (that is, not to be shared with food).*

We are going to decorate this frame with my daughter's (Megan) favorite things! Look at the little baby bear, all ready to be part of our crafting fun too! :)

We selected a variety colors we want to use and condition them - which is all the squishing and squashing, before it is ready to be molded into shapes. Little baby bear just cannot help but pop in for this photo!

Here's what Megan made into shapes - her favorite ice cream cone, a cupcake and flower.

Megan adds her finishing touches to the clay before it is sent to my designated toaster oven for baking. This process is necessary for the clay to harden. Once its cooled down, it is ready to be decorated onto the frame! *I use oven toaster. The usage of oven must be strictly handled by adults*

Here's Megan decorating the clays using blue tack to secure.

This is her end product! With cheeky baby bear and little bunny.

Footnote : I've additional info to share about polymer clay, since I've received quite a few queries. I recommend the brand "premo" if you intend to try out this craft. It's softer and easier to mold on the little hands. However, if you do not wish to invest in an oven toaster to bake your clays, there is another type of air-dry clay you can experiment with though I've not tried them out myself. These air dry clays are light weight and usually in white so you'd have to mix your own colors in with markers etc.  It is available at local major craft stores. 

Join this mommy tomorrow for her Dinosaur-themed craft idea!

Sandra blogs over at www.SANses.com, where she chronicles her life as a full-time working mother of two toddler boys. Life is now chock-ful of dinosaurs, trucks and trains... and outsmarting (or being outsmarted) by the two boys. She squeezes in the occasional craft project, board game with the kids... or a plain ol' ice-cream treat!

Blog hop to more mommy bloggers with their creative ideas at these dates! 

June 21 - Alicia @  http://beanienus.blogspot.sg/

June 23 - Sandra @ http://www.sanses.com/  
June 24 - Winnie @ http://toddlymummy.blogspot.com/
June 25 - Susan @ http://www.ajugglingmom.com/
June 26 - Ann @ http://beautifulrevelry.com/
June 27 - Justina @ http://makingmum.blogspot.com/
June 28 - Adora @ http://www.gingerbreadmum.blogspot.com/
June 29 - Regina @ http://www.reginamoo.blogspot.com/  
June 30 - Sarah @ http://www.theplayfulparents.com/
July 1 - Jennifer @ http://augdinoegg.blogspot.com/
July 2 - Pamela @ http://tanfamilychronicles.blogspot.com/
July 3 - Ming Yuan @ http://blog.mybabyfootsteps.com/  
July 4 - Dominique @ http://dominiquegoh.com/
July 5 - Karen @ http://littlejazzelle.blogspot.com

Wordless Wednesday - To each his own pizza!

 We made our own thin crust pizza last night for dinner, using wraps as base.

Brandon's pizza.

Megan's pizza. 

Mine! with DASHES of grounded garlic, black pepper and salt.

Ended the meal with ice cream on a very hot day!

Till the next post, have a blessed week!

Fruitful Friday - Baking Cookies!

Megan invited a close family friend's daughter over for play date at my home today! So I decided we could bake some cookies!

In the process! I think I added too much butter into the mix so the texture wasn't good for cutting it into shapes! I went shopping for cute little cookie moulds 2 nights ago...

So I also bought paper candy sticks and planned to make cookie pops like this half eaten one! :p  Alas, after consulting with the cookie girls, they preferred the conventional cookie shapes so...

...tada! A mountain full of cookies on a plate... although in the end, I completed the baking for half of the portion.

Happy and satisfied with their baking session today and after a good lunch. :)

I packed them into these party bags!

And made sure that Hazel brings a special bag home for her daddy for Father's Day. :) Of course, her mommy and her gor gor also has a pack for themselves.

Till the next post, have a blessed week!

Wordless Wednesday : Kids make dough and moms make merry!

A few of us from SMB took the opportunity to gather (read : spill over from online bantering) while our children went for a pizza making workshop at Modesto's yesterday. The children had a blast!

In their chef gear and ready to be pizza maker for the day! I hope my 2 children did entertain Z for a bit.

Pizza making! Oh what a mess they made and I'm happy we needn't clean up!! :p

Special shots of Jennifer's cute little professor son as I would describe him and Mei Ring's sweetie pie. :)
Little professor Z addressed me as "che che Adeline". :p He already knows his ways around ladies...

All the little chefs! Well... not all.

Posing for a shot before tucking in! Coincidentally, they are schoolmates!

Enjoying their pizza! mmm..mmm..mmm...

Group pic! The server got chided for taking a full length photo at first. hahaha!

Last but not least, we had some giggly girly time (I don't know how we could do it while talking about *ahem* serious mommy issues) and shared our favorite meal - desserts! Happy birthday in advance, Regina!  You look super radiant in this photo... it's time you share your secret!

 Till the next post, have a blessed week!

More on this post linked to MummyMoo

My first guest blog post!

I am really honored to be invited by Evelyn of 'the bottomsup blog' for a guest post today! In fact, there'll be a couple more following up from this first post. :)

Enjoy!!

Wordless Wednesday : Room Makeover

 We spent a whole day painting our bedrooms and re-organizing my daughter's room last week. Here are some photos I took.

My room.

What's a polymer clay cane?

As many of you may know by now, I work with polymer clay and is an integral part when I create jewelries.  

When I first discovered the use of polymer clay, I got very excited because it would mean I can make unique focal beads which adds a touch of 'quirkiness' in my creations. Here, I am sharing with you the process of how I make a flower polymer clay cane and thereafter, using it to create beads.

After the cane is completed, I will be able to use the flower image by slicing it thinly and blend it into a ball of clay, shape it and send it for baking! 

And the above shows some completed beads and creations I've made. :)