Articulating Thoughts

Recently Oliver and I together with Lukas went out for dinner at a nearby mall. Lukas was in the stroller most of the time. Since the mall was air-conditioned, I was afraid that Lukas might be cold (it was cold in fact!). I covered Lukas with his little baby blanket - he immediately kicked it off. I put it back on him again and again he kicked it off. This went on for a few times - I would put the blanket on him and he would giggle and cheer and get excited and kick off the blanket. To this Oliver commented, "Aiya, let him be la...may he is not cold". I directed my attention to my dinner and Oliver and I got on with our chit-chatting. A couple of minutes later Lukas had started complaining in his baby talk and when I paid no attention he burst out crying. After some thoughts I felt, "doesn't God want us to be like Lukas (in this case)? To get excited and giggle with joy in His presence? To coo and baby talk for His constant attention?  To cry and demand to be held,...

India will be celebrating her 63rd Republic Day this year on the 26th January.  Here's a card to commemorate the day. I used the Indian flag colours on these doilies and assembled them to reflect the Indian flag. Since I didn't have a stamp that would go with the theme so I just used one of Mahatma Gandhi's quotes, "Where there is love there is life". (Please excuse my hand writing).  Entering this card into the Catchy Challenges - January Season II

Entering this card into two of the following challenges. CFC84: Create a Clean And Simple Thank You card Challenge #123 Ribbon & Bows and Blog Hop~GDT Spots

My classes resumed today. Oliver starts work with the HCD department today as well. So both of us were preparing for our respective first days. We were also preparing for Lukas' first day with his babysitter. I packed his bag last night: 8 pairs of clothing 8 handkerchiefs a pack of wet wipes a pack of diapers some cotton balls a tin of milk powder and a towel These were the required things. I stuffed in a blanket, few bibs, his teether and a pair of socks. While packing his bag it felt as if I was sending him away... sob...sob...!!! Oliver sent me to the seminary first as my classes start at 8AM. The babysitter only starts at 830AM. So Oliver had to drive back to the town to drop off Lukas. When Oliver dropped off Lukas he was still asleep. He just woke up in time to say "bye-bye" to his dad. I was concerned about Oliver dropping him off - was afraid he might forget to relay some instructions to the babysitter. But I am glad I wasn't there - it would have...

Well this happened a couple of weeks ago. A dear friend of mine emailed me - sharing that she was going to host a Challenge Blog starting from 2013. I was excited for her. I have known her for sometime now and I regularly follow her craft blog and videos. I know her to be an inspiring and talented crafter. After sometime she emailed me again and asked me to be her Guest Designer . Well, I was excited and but December being the busiest month with Christmas, travelling and family around I told her I can be her February. Can't make it to be her January. To cut the long story short she insisted and I agreed.  I was leaving Penang (where all my craft stuff lay) on the 12th  so I thought to finish this project before that and send it to her. But it didn't happen. I totally forgot about it. When I got to Sibu I had nothing with me. I didn't know what to use. I prayed and asked God to help. Well he is our creator he created us and every thing around us. So he got to help me crea...

First time ever tried some Taiwanese Tea and Dessert. Together with some youths we went to this place called BlackBall in Sibu (I am sure they are in KL too). I was expecting to see some cakes and pies..., but well this is what we got. How do I like it? My taste buds don't fancy it much but maybe after a few tried I might end up liking it. The jelly kinda have some after taste - while sweet potato and yam are my least favourite. BlackBall Signature  Grass Jelly, Yam Balls, Sweet Potato Balls, Taro Q, Pearls, Red Bean.

A very dear friend of mine has taken flight into a new direction - part of her 2013 resolution as well. And am all out to get her started. Check out her Challenge Blog  . She is one of those people who can turn things into treasure. A very creative, innovative and lovely individual. I am sure you will love her challenges too. 

Few weeks back Oliver and I were revisiting his college area at the Pearl Point Shopping Center (not sure what its called now).  Well, we came across a store selling white meat. Now White meat to me is Chicken. To my surprise the shop was selling Crocodile Meat. Krocies Crocodile Shop . Can you believe it? I mean Crocodile Meat in Malaysia? I wouldn't be surprised to find such stores in Thailand, Cambodia or Vietnam, but Malaysia? Well what do we know. Apparently, Krocies import their "materials" from crocodile farms in East Malaysia. They sell crocodile meat which is healthy - low in fat and high in protein. Other then crocodile meat they even sell other crocodile related products such as balms, oils, a real stuffed crocodile and souvenirs.  Do check out their website for more info.

Well, while we were at the Popular Mega Sale at Straits Quay few days ago. We bumped into this. Have you ever seen a Gigantic Christmas Tree?? A Christmas tree made of books? Really? Well here it is. It's a Christmas tree made of readable books. Isn't it cool1? A wonderful way to promote books and be green. I personally loved the tree and the deco. Sweet and simple. If you happen to be around do check it out.

What am I doing here at this hour? Oh well, I had coffee and now I can't sleep. Anyways, since I can't sleep I thought of hoping here to share this post. Baby Lukas hasn't been out of the house for almost 2 days. So today we decided to go Straits Quay and stroll with him. When we were ready to go he fell a sleep. We decided to wake him up - I got him dressed up and we were about to leave when he poo-ed.  This went on until the sun was down - good bye strolling...sigh!! Now that the sun was down and walking around in dark wouldn't be so fun we still decided to go. When we came to Straits Quay what do we see? The evening got interesting as we stepped towards the SQCC at 6th floor. Hubby and I love books, so we spent the evening here. While for baby Lukas - he was tied up in the stroller and had to tag along mom and dad. Not very interesting evening for him but his eyes brighten up as we walked around admiring the Christmas tree and the lights.

Cards I made for my sister. She graduated from The School of ACTS on the 11th November 2012. And she asked me to make few cards to give her friends. So here is what I came up in the short time and the little material I had here in KL. I would also like to congratulate her on her Graduation. CONGRATS BINNY...!!

I was drawn to the crafting world by my mentors and friends. It ' s interesting to know how the art of making s imple cards and sending greetings across has now become a huge industry. It's not just about the message or the greeting anymore. Now this field has a new set of vocabulary like patterned papers, embellishments, b lings, glitters, various inks, Washi tapes, big shot, Cricut and so on and has taken the world of scrapbooking into a different dimension (of course for GOOD!!) Well, it is so easy to find these materials in USA, England and Australia at affordable prices with a wide variety to choose from w hile the crafters here in Malaysia face the scarcity of such perks. They either look for materials in local station e ry stores or order stuff online which could be expensive. While digging for some stuff I found many Malaysian bloggers with same interest and also links to where I can get these things so, I have decided to check out these few craft stores in a...

Recently we took a weekend trip to Penang. On the way back we halted at the R&R at Tapah, Perak. The one on the North-South Expressway. Well while looking around for some coffee in such a huge place - LOOK WHAT WE FOUND...!!!

I can't say "recently", as this was last month. But yeah we celebrated Baby Lukas' Full Moon. It was on the 6th of October. However, friends and family got together to celebrate on 7th as it was a Sunday.  Full Moon (Man Yue) is a Chinese custom that celebrates the baby's first month. Lukas' Poh-Poh (grandma), Gung-Gung (grandpa), Gu-Gu (aunt), Gu Fu (uncle) and Jie Jie (cus Sis) flew all the way from Sibu and his cus aunt flew from Kuching to celebrate God's goodness and faithfulness with us. We had a table booked at Tai Thong: Imperial City Restaurant in Cheras for a family dinner on the 6th. We were a bit late due to traffic jam and were so hungry that we actually forgot to take pictures of the food served.  Family picture at Tai Thong Restaurant Since my mom's house in KL can't accommodate many people at the same time so hubby and I decided to have an "open-house" on Sunday. I guess it was a good idea since we got ...

A million Dollar view from our apartment in Penang.

I was so confused - was so overwhelmed by what to pack and what not to in the hospital bag for the newborn. I checked online and it further confused me. You know how they say, "too many cooks spoil the broth"? I guess too much information leaves you just as confused as well :p Here are few things I felt confident about and a newborn might need - and if I do forget something or need something last minute - I guess I should allow myself to make such mistakes and learn from it. After all we learn from mistakes and this is what will become an experience, isn't it?      Well, these are the things I packed in my lovely brand new diaper bag (was dying to use it ;p) Diapers (newborn size - now is the time to use those received from hospital/clinic during our regular visits)  Diaper Rash Cream Changing mat Baby Wipes Baby blankets -2  Newborn baby clothes - 3 pairs  hat, mittens, booties, 2 tops and 2 bottoms (be it long/short sleeves, I gues...

I thought my labour would be dramatic, at some random place at a random time - like in the movies. But it wasn't like that at all. We went for my regular appointment at week 39. Things were fine no contractions and no sign of anything. I was asking my doctor (I guess all first time moms do), "how would I know I am in labour?" and his response was, "Aarti, you will know".  We came home (my hospital bag was ready by week 34 so we had nothing to worry), had dinner, watched the first episode of Guilty Crown (anime) with my hubby. Went to bed very late (was almost 2pm). By 3 PM I could feel it coming. The contractions had begun - were mild and I could walk. We called the doctor at 5AM and as per his suggestion went to ER. The contractions became stronger by 7AM and I could barely walk (now I knew what the doctor meant by, "Aarti you will know"). The nurse who was monitoring my contractions on the machine said the contractions were very strong (as per th...

I had been designing my baby birth announcement cards for a long time. Just couldn't figure out what and how I wanted it to be. One thing I wanted was the card to be not heavy (to save on postage). Due to my weaknesses I couldn't spend much time on these cards. And I was at my mom's without my craft materials and accessories. So had to do with what all I had.  So here is a very simple Baby Boy Birth Announcement Card. I made 50 of these and they were sent to family and friends near and far. Material used: Blue and White Card Stock and printer.