So Loved

A wonderful surprise came in the mailbox for me just two days before Christmas. I was almost in tears when I saw this, for it was a very beautifully handmade scrapbook by one of my dearest friends, MC.



She made this for me, and also for another girlfriend of ours, Hester. Oh the mischief the three of us would get into. How I've missed it. And missed them more.











Suffice to say, it was one of the best presents I've ever received. Nothing beats something lovingly handmade just for you.

Thanks dearie :)

Tine's New Year Resolutions for 2009

Launch my own line of ... something

There really IS a something, but I'm only going to do it after Chinese New Year, as I would only be back in Melbourne then. I'm really excited (and a tad apprehensive, to be honest) about this one. I've been working on it for a month now. All will be revealed in due time.

Finish up something I've started

I tend to have this problem where I'd start doing something, but halfway through, I'd leave it and move on to something else. I have to start seeing things through, may it be good or bad.

Exercise more and lose weight

Sigh, this has been my new year resolution for years now, but I've never been able to achieve my target. In fact, I plunged even further from it when I came here, and got through the winter months with comfort food. Please, for once, let me be able to do this this year!

Laugh more, worry less

Too many frown lines from the ups and downs of 2008. It takes less muscles to smile anyway.

Get a home of our own

This would be the biggest challenge in 2009, and also the most expensive. But I'm really looking forward to it, to have a home of our own. Finally growing up! :)

Get a proper driver's license

I only have an Australian learner's permit up till now. Gotta get my act together and sit for the practical exam next year. I was never really motivated to do it this year, as I have great access to public transportation, which is pretty good here. But when I move to whatever suburb I'd be living, I may not be so fortunate.

Have more "alone time" with the husband

Living with a housemate now doesn't allow us much time together, just the two of us. It wouldn't be long till we're pressured to have children, so I think it's vital we savour our time together as much as possible before we welcome little ones into our lives.


Be thankful for what I already have

Well, that just says it all, doesn't it?


What are your resolutions for 2009? Any new ones to add? Or just trying to get through the old ones like me?

2008 - The Year That Was

Neil Sedaka's Calendar Girl. I just couldn't resist.

I got married to the love of my life. That was the most wonderful event of the year. Moving to Australia, however, was the biggest challenge. It hasn't been easy at first; in fact, it was frustrating with no job, hardly any friends, and not being able to drive to wherever I want to go, like how I would in Malaysia. It also didn't help with unsupportive family who did not understand why getting a job (in what I did before) was difficult. I remembered many a tear shed throughout the year.

Still, when life give you lemons, you make lemonade. And I made lemonade indeed.

Thanks to blogging, I got to know Geekchic, whom in turn, introduced me to more friends. She made it so much easier for me here, for which I am truly grateful. I got to know other people through my blogs too, whom I've met up with, had meals with, etc. See, whoever told you blogging was bad for you, needs to get his/her head out of the sand.

Can't drive? No worries - I live 5 minutes away by foot from the train station and bus stops. I've learned to utilise public transportation to the maximum, something which I wouldn't even consider in Malaysia.

Not getting a proper job was the biggest problem. Thank God for a very supportive husband, who understood my predicament, and let me do whatever I wanted to do as long as I was happy doing it. With my free time, I blogged a lot more, went out on my own a lot more, cooked a lot more (I can now whip up a mean spaghetti bolognese and shepherd's pie from scratch without even looking at the recipe, when before I'd just use sauce from a jar), and many more.

It hasn't been easy, but God is truly faithful. Looking back at 2008, it has been a rollercoaster ride. But I'd do again in a heartbeat.

Here's to 2009, and whatever it may bring.

Merry Christmas 2008

Image Credit: Kairashi

Are we too grownup to feel a thrill
As we light the Christmas tree?
Are we immune to cookies,
Christmas cards and Christmas glee?

Are we too adult to "Ooh" and "Aah"
At the Christmas candle's glow?
Are we blasé about our gifts;
Do we shun the mistletoe?

Are we too mature for carols,
For merry or for jolly?
Do the decorations leave us cold,
The ornaments and holly?

Fat chance! We'll never grow too old
To love the Christmas magic.
A year without a Christmas
Would be boring, even tragic.

So bring it on! The candy canes,
The feasting and good cheer;
O Christmas, lovely Christmas,
You're the highlight of the year!

- Joanna Fuchs -


Have a blessed Christmas, folks.

Snip Snip

For the first time ever, I cut someone's hair today. My husband's to be specific. He needed a trim real badly, and asked me if I'd like to cut his hair for him.

Gulp.

And it was not just a trim at the nape, mind you. It was snipping and cutting of layers and layers of hair on his entire head. I was so apprehensive that I had to have a drink first. A cocktail in the bathroom (that was where I did the deed), just to calm my nerves.

Thirty minutes later, Tim emerged with a much fresher look. Granted the layers weren't exactly measured to the millimetre to match, but I reckon I did a pretty good job :)

Now, does anybody need me to cut their hair for them? Veli cheap only!

Update: Ooops, and I forgot to add this. I did it with a pair of kitchen scissors (no, not the one actually used in our kitchen). How 'bout that? ;)

Help Me Crap Money

A trip to Tiffany's and Co today, pushing past the massive crowds coming out of the store with bags and bags of blue boxes with red (just 'cos it's Christmas) ribbons, no doubt housing some very expensive trinkets, got me thinking.

Sweet Lord, do these people crap money?

And if they do, what do I need to do in order for $$$ to come out of whatever orifice I have?

Ladybug on PJs

This little fella was crawling on Tim's pajama pants when it was hung outside to dry. I don't think I've ever seen a ladybug this close up. I detest critters, and I was pretty apprehensive when going so close to it with the camera.

Glad I caught this though (the photo, not the bug). Pretty, isn't it?

No Tree This Year

A week more to go before Christmas. I'm pretty excited about it, as Tim and I would be going to Sydney to visit his brother and sister-in-law. Whee! I've never been to Sydney, and I'm dying to see the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge in person.

On another Christmas-related note, there'll (sadly) be no Christmas tree for us this year. One thing, we don't have a place of our own, so it's pretty pointless (according to the husband) to get one this year, and the other, and this pretty much got my blood boiling, the husband doesn't believe in getting one!

For as long as I remember, I've always had a Christmas tree. Even when I was in Dundee, my housemates and I had a tree, albeit a tiny one. Of course, Christmas isn't about the trees and presents, but it's my family tradition. The husband's family does not practise this, thus he doesn't understand why we should. He doesn't understand the reason of having to have a tree, exchange gifts, or any of the frivolous acts the season brings.

To him, it's just another day.

Sorry, love, but now that we're a family, I'm bringing this tradition to our family. An over-decorated and tacky tree, exchange of gifts (on a budget, of course), going to church, and a Christmas meal together, whether it's cheap or expensive. I just don't want it to be like any other day. It should be something we get to look forward to, toward the end of the year. The birth of Christ, and us celebrating the occasion together. And on a more secular mode, having a plastic tree with bright bobbles and fairy lights.

Anyway, he grudgingly agreed to getting one next year. With much reluctance, mind you. I've put the matter to rest, at least for now (okay, this post being the last one).

I know I shouldn't be bothered about this, over something so ridiculously trivial, but I sort of am.

Conversations with Mee

Note: Mee is what I call my mum. Apparently when I was very young, I couldn't be arsed to call her MUMMY, so I shortened it to Mee. I call my dad Dee too.

Me: Good Lord, that's a lot of crap you have on your dressing table. And most of them are skincare items too. Do you actually use all of 'em?

Mee: Yep.

Me: So how many products do you use for your daytime and night time skincare regime?

Mee: About 5 for the day, and 6-7 for the night. I sometimes change to a different product.

Me: Seriously, do they work? Have you seen any improvement on your skin?

Mee: Nope.

Me: Then why do you still use them?! Aiyoh, what a waste of money!

Mee: Do you notice any deterioration on my face? Any more new spots?

Me: Err, no.

Mee: Then THAT is an improvement. At my age, as long as it doesn't go 'down', I'm happy.

A lesson from my mum. At, err, 50-something (she will kill me if I reveal her age), don't look for improvements. Just make sure that things don't get any worse.

That Is Uniquely Melbourne

So here I am, on a chilly but sunny Sunday morning, sipping my cup of hot Milo (aren't they the best?) whilst doing me laundry (it's cheaper to do it on weekends), and stumbling sites, just like another day. Tim's on call again today, but I've had my share of walking around the city all of yesterday, so I'm having a quiet day in.

On a whim, Tim and I hopped on to the train to the city yesterday and decided to become tourists of the day. Y'know, wearing shorts, tee-shirt, pik-piak slippers and sporting a huge camera around the neck, that sort of thing. Walking through small alleyways, hopping on the tram to the Waterfront City, getting caught in the rain (without any pina coladas).

Ferrero Rocher Display at Melbourne Central Station (and no, I don't think those are actual choccies hanging from the ceiling)

Christmas decorations along Bourke Street Mall

Inside The Royal Arcade

Graffiti at Union Place

Flinders St

Docklands

The Melbourne Eye (any difference to the Eye on Malaysia?)

Degraves Street

All these simply reminded me of how much I'm loving Melbourne now, and that I see it as home. Even with its unpredictable weather.

Anonymity

The thing with the Internet is that with the power of anonymity, even the quietest mouse has suddenly developed the biggest voice.

The trouble is learning how to channel that voice to a greater good.

And not just be a tin kosong. (empty can)

The First Day

Good Lord, did I just nap for three whole hours? I haven't had such a long nap in years! And yes, I meant years! Ah well, it is the first day after all. Of surfing the crimson tide. Of cramps and lousy moods. Of odd cravings.

Men, stop cringing. You and I have long passed our Science education.

Note: There's something so naughty about typing this in bed. I should do it more often.

Britney For The Record

I was watching Britney For The Record on Channel Ten yesterday evening, and my my, has Britney Spears really cleaned herself up this time? She looks great, fit, toned (damn those abs), and for the first time in years, young. Just like when she first started out. Before all the trash came in, and she became part of it.


Image: Daily Stab

Plus I have to admit, I'm quite liking that new album of hers, Circus.

*bopping head to "Womanizer Womanizer Womanizer Womanizer"*

Please don't hate me.

Tis The Season

Christmas decorations in the city are up. Not too lavish, a tree on Swanston Walk, lights along Bourke St Mall, small decorations here and there, that sorta thing. Carols sung by Bing Crosby playing in shops. Kids walking around with paper antlers on their heads.

It's not like Christmas in Japan. And I'm glad, because in Japan, it's such a commercial season, it's like someone vomited Christmas all over the place. Apparently the words "less is more" is lost to 'em Japs.

Christmas in the summer heat isn't too different from Malaysia, although I do miss our overly decorated 6-feet fake tree back at my parents' home. We're not getting a tree just yet, not this year, not when we don't have a place of our own.

I can't wait till we have our own tree though. Nothing spells Christmas like a tacky, over-decorated tree on a 30C day. It reminds me of home.

It's just 21 sleeps to Christmas. The countdown begins.

To Tweet Or Just Blog About It

I was wondering, should I just blog about what I did at the moment I was doing whatever I was doing on this blog, or just use Twitter?

I feel as though this blog's abandoned due to my commitment to the beauty blog and also all the tweeting, and it saddens me. Maybe I should just blog short sentences here instead of putting it on Twitter? I mean, I have lots of stuff to talk about, but it takes a lot of time and effort to write long poetic stories.

Gosh, am I even making sense at all?