Osaka

It's been a 2-week hiatus from here...mainly because we went to Osaka!
We flew off on 28 September and flew home on 6 October.

Some stuff from the trip....

1. The Girls: On the Plane, Eating Habits, Relationship
I'm still amazed at how Nadya can watch 6 hours worth of cartoons going to Osaka, and another 6 hours worth of cartoon on the flight back from Osaka. I'd be doggone tired but she was still ok lol. She got pretty good at operating the touchscreen monitor and could make her own selections once I switched her monitor to "kids mode".

The girls ate well while there. They fed themselves mostly and there was not too much whining though they were sometimes still distracted. We brought a whole lot of milk powder for their before-sleep feeds and for Alyssa's middle-of-the-night feeds....BUT, for some reason, they didn't drink at all. Alyssa requested for milk sometimes but when we made the milk in a cup for her...she'd take a few sips and then reject the milk. Maybe it's because she still drinks from a bottle at home. Anyway, we ended up bringing back the entire pack of milk powder......

Nadya was a trooper...She walked alot during our stay in Osaka and although she sometimes complained of being tired, and whined a little, with some encouragement and goading, she still managed to trudge on. There were times that K had to carry her though, all 17/18kg of her, as she was really cranky and tired out from the walking.

Alyssa....sigh. I carried her alot and I went to bed each night aching and sore like f*ck. That's carrying 13kg and walking everywhere...sometimes up and down staircases too.

I think the girls grew closer during the trip. *hearts* And I think Nadya developed more of her caring side as a big sister. I'd like to think it was partly due to me asking her for help to look after Alyssa. Sometimes, if they were both walking, I'd ask Nadya to hold hands with Alyssa and make sure she keeps to the side of the road or the pavement. Or I'd seek Nadya's help to brush Alyssa's hair, etc...I saw her taking her own initiative and guiding Alyssa along and looking after her the other day...my heart felt so warm seeing that...:)

2. Dotonburi 
Tourist trap area haha. Some shops are pricier but there are still some places selling reasonably priced food. The area is busy and tourists mill around at all times of the day. Still it makes for a nice stroll, especially at night when all the neon signs and streetlights light up.

We of course had to take the obligatory picture with the iconic Mr Glico Man and the moving mechanical crab haha. K was disappointed that we didn't get to try many many types of food...but well, when you've two kids with you...sometimes ti does get difficult to queue up or step into different restaurants.

3. Chouette Owl Cafe
I'm glad we went to this cafe. We went out of our way to find 2 cat cafes on Monday but they both didn't accept kids below the age of 7 or 10 and we were quite disappointed. So I was really happy we managed to go the the owl cafe. The girls liked the owls so much K ended up buying them an owl feather each.

Alyssa's and my favourite owls were Azuki and Chip. K liked a white snowy owl called Arashi and Nadya didn't have any particular favourite I think. Alyssa was initially afraid and didn't dare to pet the birds but gathered up her courage after awhile.

I had mixed feelings about the birds though. While I appreciated the opportunity to interact and pat them up close, I also felt sad that they were chained to wooden perches and were not flying around in their natural habitat.

4. Nara Park
We took the Kintetsu Line out to Nara, a neighbouring town from Osaka. Nara Park had deer roaming around and we bought deer feed for them. Bad idea cos we were immediately swarmed by deer big and small, male and female. Alyssa was in my arms and clinging on to me for dear life. Nadya was spooked as well and started shrieking. Lol, other tourists were looking at us being surrounded by the deer. K got bitten on his belly by an aggressive male buck looking for food. We ended up throwing some of the feed on the ground to get away from the deer....I didn't even get to pet one because whenever I tried putting my hand out, one of them would think there was food and would try to chomp down on my hand...

Things got alot calmer once we managed to get away from that main group of deer. We managed to explore parts of the surrounding park and I was glad we did so. Nadya acted up a little but soon found joy in playing with the gravel on the ground lol. Both girls were squatting down and grabbing handfuls of the gravel. The architecture of the temples and shrines there were quite nice...It was also a very bright and sunny day and it made for good pictures. :)

5. Kaiyukan (Osaka Aquarium)
This place really impressed me. We did not only see fishes, we saw other animals like seals, sealions, penguins and capybara too. Their main tank located in the centre of the building was a huge-ass tank which housed whale sharks, manta rays and giant garoupa as well as other types of smaller fishes. I was awed by this main tank and totally loved the visit to the Kaiyukan! The way they displayed the jellyfishes was also very artistic and cool. If the SEA aquarium in Singapore is rated an 8, I'd say the one in Osaka is a 9. :)

6. Kuromon Ichiba Market
We got lost when we exited the subway. It was only our 2nd day in the city and we were still confused by the mainly Japanese signs. We spent a good 15-20mins just trying to figure out which direction to go and where to walk. Only to realise that the entrance to the market was actually just a minute's walk away haha. K was excited to visit the market. There were loads of stuff to eat and try. I was erm,,,less enthusiastic though. I'm not so adventurous when it comes to food, especially street food. He tried fugu (puffer fish), eel, whale meat, eel innards and sea urchin. The girls were mainly just curious about the various types of seafood around and the different colours of the stalls...we ended up having udon for lunch at a small restaurant.

7. Food in general
K kept complaining that we didn't get to try sushi. I complained that we didn't get to try gyoza and okonomiyaki. But actually.....we did try these things - oyako-don, gyu-don, cold and hot soba, various types of udon, ramen, takoyaki, saba, rolled egg, and omu rice. We even got the chance to have dinner at a Japanese grill place where we grilled/barbequed our own food).

One thing that surprised me was that the food there was quite salty and heavily seasoned. I started having a sore throat after 3-4 days there. Too salty for my liking actually. As for it being heavily seasoned....well, what more to expect coming from the land that invented MSG? haha...

8. Subway
Way too many stairs haha. Some of the interchanges were twice (or more) as large as our Dhoby Ghaut interchange. We were lost a couple of times and most of the time, we had to walk very far just to change lines...Still, I'm amazed at how well-connected the city is. Even more amazed but the number of subway lines and privately run railway lines. The first time I saw the map while planning for the trip, I was utterly confused about how to get from point A to point B haha.

9. Weather
We thought the weather would be 15-25C and we went on a shopping spree to get heat-tech and thicker stuff for the girls. We stocked up on long pants and long sleeves for the girls. It ended up being around 27-28C in the day....with the sun sometimes being as strong or strong than that in Singapore. The only good thing is that Japan's not as humid as Singapore and you sweat less as a result. It only got cold on one night when it started raining and got chilly.

Last but not least....

10. Plants
I loved all the temperate plants and trees that grew there...so pretty...
Moss was also plentiful along the sidewalks and pathways...basically you could find moss anywhere you went. Sometimes they were thick and so fluffy I wanted to dig them out and bring them back to Singapore...I saw many types of maple and pine too...and other coniferous trees...They were all so pretty I was tempted to break off some branches to bring back to Singapore in the hope of rooting them....Alas, I didn't. But it made my heart full to see the pretty foliage there. :)

Sister Fight

The girls got into a quarrel yesterday. Well, actually it was more one-sided this time round.

Nadya was packing up a toy which they'd both been playing, because it was time for her to do her speech and drama homework. Alyssa was supposed to stop playing and go change into her PJs.

Alyssa got pissed that Nadya was packing up and started fighting with her. She tried to snatch the toy away from Nadya. Nadya, being the taller and nimbler one, managed to dodge and continued packing the toy away. I stepped in and took the toy away, announcing that no one would have the toy now but Dada and Mama.

Alyssa wailed big time. Screamed. Lay on the floor. Kicked. You have it.

Finally she got up, stomped over to Nadya and tried to grapple with her. Nadya was stoic and stood her ground. Alyssa screamed one more time and took a frustrated swipe at Nadya's head.

Gosh, it was a loud smack. I could tell Nadya was surprised and hurt. Her eyes widened and started turning red. She held back her tears though. I've to give her credit for that. I thought she would have bawled right there and then but she instead recovered pretty quickly and walked over to the writing desk to start on her homework. I think she didn't cry or fuss too much because she knew she wasn't at fault.

Alyssa on the other hand....Right after the smack, I scolded her and told her "No hitting!". She cried even louder in response. She then stormed back to her room. Kyne went to settle her while I stayed with Nadya to finish her work.

Eventually, Alyssa was still crying and wanted me. I had to go and be with her. She settled down quite soon after I went in to be with her. Had to go through the whole spiel of "no hitting of anyone", "need to apologise", etc....She requested me to be with her when she went to apologise to Nadya...

Finally all ended well...Alyssa said sorry to Nadya, Nadya said ok. Both girls hugged...Alyssa hugged K and me too...it was a hug fest lol...

Before we slept that night, Alyssa announced "I love jiejie"...lol.

I hope the two of you grow closer and look after each other next time ok? Have each other's back ya!
Watch out for each other...and love each other fiercely!

Like Those Lovely Salmon Rising Against the River Stream

I recently discovered a Korean folk rock song from 1998. It's got a long quirky title but the lyrics are only a little quirky and pretty meaningful....



Like those lively salmon rising against the river stream
By Kang San Ae

For the same mysterious reasons

that salmons rise against

the river stream of their own will.

 

I don’t know since when,

I’ve been walking, walking

and walking this road.

I wonder how much further

I have to go in the days ahead.

 

Among many prongs of a fork in the road.

Even if this path that I’m walking

is an inevitable detour onto a winding road.

Though it will harden my feet

if I keep walking, walking and walking,

I will be lying down in those wide flower beds to take some rest.

 

Among many prongs of a fork in the road.

Even if this path that I’m walking is in the pitch black dark, even without starlight

I cannot just give up now.

If I keep walking, walking and walking

I will be able to see the sunlight

That’s passionately shattered for me

 

Even so I know I have been blessed so much

with so many roads to choose to walk ahead of me

Right, if I start walking again

If I keep walking, walking and walking

One day I’ll be thankful for all these things

 

The end of the road is not in sight

You hang your weary shoulders and sigh but

please don’t be afraid

Like those lively salmon rising against the river stream

If you keep walking

If you keep walking

If you keep walking…

Hang in there my little plant!

And suddenly....my office terrarium is not doing too well...:(

After I rescued Kah Hui's and pruned it, it's thriving again...but mine's the one now looking a little bedraggled...Silly me added to much water and I hope it's not drowning. Took me more than 2 weeks to realise that it's quite waterlogged...:(

The red fittonia is doing ok...the white/geen one is getting limp and a little brown....
Hang in there!!

I'm going on leave till 9 Oct...I hope it survives till then when I can do something proper about it....

Happy Birthday Peanut!

Today's the 24th of September 2018.

It is the 15th day of the 8th lunar month i.e. Mid-Autumn Festival.

It is also Alyssa's birthday! Our littlest baby is now 3!

She's bulked up more in the last 1-2 months and finally moved past the 12.5kg mark. She's at 12.8kg now so a big yay to this! She's a parrot of sorts and repeats alot of what Nadya says. But she's also got a mind of her own and says what she wants at other times too. Her pronunciation is still not too clear yet though and I hope it gets better in time to come...:)

She has this strange way of running that looks more like she's hopping. And it's oddly charming. :)

She's also got a great, infectious smile and an absolutely killer cheeky grin that melts the hardest of hearts. Her eyes twinkle and her small dimple on her left lower cheek adds even more charm to her pretty face.

She's developed quite a temper in recent weeks. A simple "no" or a chide for something she's done wrong ignites a wailfest or a screamfest or a kickfest. You get the drift.

She's starting again to want me whenever I take a shower in the evening after work. She'd be screaming and lying on the floor in front of the bathroom door. I'd hear the door handle rattle when she's trying with all her might to open the door. I'd hear her knocking on the door while screaming "I want Mama!" She'd stop as soon as I open the door. And then the smile comes back within minutes. (Talk about Jekyll and Hyde lol...)

You're growing well sweetie...I hope you stay strong, healthy, happy and blessed always.
May all good things come your way often and may you continue to learn and grow your mind in myriad ways! Just know too that Dada, Mama and Jiejie love you to bits! We have your back!

17 September 2018

The day marked the close of my 11th year with the company.

Today is the 18th of September 2018. It marks the start of my 12th year with the company.

When I started here, I didn't think about how long I would stay here or what I wanted to achieve here. I just plodded along and took whatever came my way, special projects and all. Somehow, it became so many years.

I also experienced many things in my life and hit many milestones during my stint here....

• my 3 years of learning French
• a bad breakup
• a passionate romance with K ;p
• our ROM
• our wedding
• Nadya's birth
• Alyssa's birth
• shifting out of my childhood home
• shifting into my inlaws' place
• buying of our own home
• building of our nest
• buying of our car
• hiring my own helper

I wonder how many more years would I be here with the company? .....

Birds of a feather

The Coll has 2 other good friends in the office. I don't like both of them too. (Because well....birds of a feather flock together) Other than polite cursory greetings when we meet by the walkway, I try not to engage in further conversations with them.

One of them, BE, was in the pantry today when I was preparing my salad. She sauntered over while holding a cup of blueberries and popping them into her mouth. She asked in a more than incredulous voice if I was only havign that small cup of salad for lunch. I said no and that I'd already had a full meal. This cup of salad was just an add-on. More like a snack of sorts.

She positioned herself at the counter next to me and started staring at every single thing I was doing. Like WTH? And then she continued commenting on everything I was doing as well. She also kept insisting that I was not having enough.

"你这样是不够的。Not enough." She followed up with a "tsk tsk" look. My blood pressure was rising.

"What do you mean not enough? I already had a bowl of noodles."

"你这样是不够的。Not enough." She repeated.
At this point I had no idea if she was referring to me eating too little in general or that I was not eating enough vegetables for the day.

I kind of ignored her for the rest of the comments that came. Mostly mindless stuff about eating berries and washing vegetables and fruits and how I should be washing my veggies in a certain way.

Please. Just bugger off.
老娘 likes it this way and so it shall be. I don't need you commenting and giving your opinion on what I should be eating or how much I should be eating ir how I should prepare my food. Also, bear in mind that we're not exactly that close for you to be imposing your thoughts and opinions on me.

Nadya...and her not-so-soft voice

Nadya embarrassed me much on 2 occassions. Both took place in women's public washrooms but on 2 separate incidents.

Incident #1
We were in the same cubicle and I had to pee as well. I did so in front of her.
She then announced in her sibei loud voice....

"Mama! Next time when I get older I will grow hair down there like you!"

???!!!  *face palm*

There were people washing their hands at the sinks lah!!...
I waited for them to go out before I slunk out of the cubicle ....

Incident #2
All cubicles were taken so we waited. Finally a lady came out of one...when we moved in, it was obvious she had just settled something big. Nadya exclaimed....

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! So smelly!!!!!!!"

Omg. The lady was still at the sink...I quickly shushed Nadya and nudged her into the cubicle quickly...
It was embarrassing for me and probably even more so for that lady as well haha....

Offers of Food

I appreciate it if people offer me food or snacks in the office. I really do....
I just don't like it that much if people force me to accept their snacks or food.

"Why don't want?"
"Aiyah! You can afford to eat lah! Just take!"
"Aiyah, no need to be paiseh. Just take!"
"Everybody took liao, why you never take?"

I don't want means don't want lor...it's not that I am paiseh to take or what...but I really don't want to eat it....So...erm...don't force me to take can?!

Sometimes, I get odd looks and sometimes people just insist and leave the food on my table and walk off, leaving me staring at their backs.

But there are times when people just move on after I decline them politely. I appreciate these times....

I just had a quarter of a mooncake dumped on my desk even though I declined politely....sigh....
I'm too full to eat. And I can't throw it away too cos it's such a waste....

See if I can offload it to someone else later......

Watercolouring

I like many things and I am also interested in various things. Some of my interests require in-depth training and learning, which I either cannot afford the money on or I can't accord the time to.
Some other interests like colouring, and gardening, is more accessible to me...

I'd been interested in watercolours for some time but never really dabbled in it. The girls were doing painting over the weekend and I had a sudden inspiration to try playing with it too.

So there I was, huddled over the girls' small IKEA plastic table, armed with a cheapo Popular house brand paintbrush (which was getting matted and damaged already) and drawing paper, flanked by a cheapo watercolour tray from Daiso and accompanied by a small plastic cup of water.

Took me several strokes before I got the hang of it...And here is my first watercolour piece....more like a trial piece haha...

Gerberas....or at least my interpretation of them. The colour of the picture doesn't do much justice to the actual work though. :) I think it looked much nicer in real life haha. Nothing fantastic, but still, it was a good virgin attempt.

I got inspired and as usual, acting on my whim, I bought watercolour paper and a fresh set of better quality paintbrushes from Popular the next day. I also watched 2 videos on watercolour painting....

And voila...the works I did yesterday...

Nothing fantastic BUT, you can definitely see the improvement in the ombres, gradients and textures. :)

And again, the paintings look much better in real like....I'm not a good photographer and somehow always ends up taking dull photos of the paintings....not sure why though....

Hope to find some time again to paint a little...am thinking of using these to make cards for friends and family...:)

Jiayou

Didn't sleep till 215am. Was woken up at 430am and then again at 630am.

Alyssa slept quite badly last night due to her stuffed, runny nose and bad cough. She's starting to sound quite phlegmy as well.

Fingers crossed that she will get well soon.

Fingers crossed also that I will survive today in the office....feeling a little groggy and breathless...tummy doesn't feel too good as well with her semi-lying on me and squashing my tummy for most of last night.

Of flies and buffaloes....

From time to time, I take a walk through Nadya's classroom at her pre-school, to look at the children's works hanging on the walls or displayed in files by their form teacher.

Yesterday, I saw one of Nadya's work It was so cute. They were learning "ff" and "ll" words as well as words that started with the letters "f" and "l". The kids are usually given free rein to construct their own sentences, but they need to use words containing "ff", "ll", "f" and "l".

She wrote this.....

"The fly was flying and bumped into a buffalo. The fly yelled and then found a lamp."

Hahaha...Quite corny but so cute...!

The Gift of Life

I've had good friends undergo IVF and other fertility treatments but they mainly kept the experience to themselves. In one case, I only heard about it when they managed to successfully conceive.

I guess, for something so personal and emotional, it might sometimes be best to keep the journey to themselves. Too much sharing may get unwanted questions from others, which may in turn trigger emotional floodgates.

Recently though, someone has chosen to share her journey with me. Maybe it is because we are in the same team at work. Maybe because she feels close to me. Maybe she feels I understand her. Whatever it is,  ST has been going for various medical tests and treatments and hormone injections for what is known as an IUI treatment. She has been sharing some stuff with me from time to time.

I really salute her bravery and determination. Definitely not easy to get an injection to the belly every night. The whole process and journey is challenging physically, mentally and emotionally. She confessed to me recently though that she was finding it increasingly difficult to keep a check on her emotions. She was starting to feel the strain and stress of it all. I could only encourage her and remind her to manage her own expectations.

She went for a checkup today to see if she has successfully conceived. She skyped me earlier on with a concise "Result out le. Unsuccessful."

Sigh...jiayou gal...

Go where you are wanted

https://www.scarymommy.com/what-i-realized-after-ghosted-by-best-friend/?utm_source=FB

I saw this article on Facebook and it resonated with me.

Some extracts:

"How often, I suddenly realized, I have spent time knocking on the doors of those who don’t want me, trying to convince them I’m worth it. Years I’ve spent worried, wondering what I might be able to do to make myself valuable enough for their attention......

......I’ve never been a person lacking friends and love. And yet those people who love me have gently stood in the wings waiting for me to finish standing onstage before those who don’t love me, tap dancing my ass off in hopes that one of them might clap.

It is not selfish to go where you are wanted, either. It is self-love and self-care to allow the people who love you to love you hard, and to gently release those who don’t...."

I had had difficulty letting go of some people. People who used to be close with me and on good terms but suddenly chose not to stay in contact or who chose to ignore when I reached out. Two of them I'd known for decades. I now know the term for it: "ghosted".

It took years of doubt, of reaching out (to no avail), of keeping those friends at the back of my mind, and lots of to-ing and fro-ing between wanting to let things be and wanting to try to reach out again, before I finally came to terms with myself and with the situation. I finally let go.

As the article says, go where you are wanted.

People come, people go. Accept that some folks no longer want or need you in their lives. Accept that they once left a mark in your life and they have since moved on and you should to. Focus your attention on those dear friends who have stuck around for so long.

Conversations with an almost 5-year old

The other night at home. I was sitting on the floor, knees drawn up in front of me. Feet were planted on the ground 30-50cm in front of me. My chubby calves were hanging loose.

Nadya came by and poked my calves. They wobbled. She poked again. They wobbled again. And then wobbled some more.

She announced: "Eeee Mama, you are like jelly. You have jelly legs. I like jelly."

And then she shrieked with glee and guffawed.

-_- '''

Less junk, Less gunk??

Nope, note there yet.

Less junk, less gunk was my motto for the year but I've not had much time and luck in trying to stick to it.

Everywhere I look in my house, there's a pile of stuff waiting to be looked at and sorted through to determine if it's to be thrown or kept. Every single room in the house needs to be looked at. There are old clothes to be packed away, kids toys to be packed away or discarded, etc.

FFS. I think I even need to look through the refrigerator to determine what needs to be thrown away or kept because the helper is scared to throw things away even if they are past expiry.

Forgotten corners are collecting mega dustballs and hair. Missed areas by the helper still have a layer of oil and dirt on them. I need to nag/remind/show/guide her to be more thorough.

It's grating on my nerves and weighing on my mind somewhat. I wish I could have many more days of leave at my disposal. So that I can take a whole week's worth just to clean and clear up the house.

Close one eye and 看开多一点? Already看开alot compared to last time. How else will there will be organically growing mounds of stuff in various nooks and crannies of the house? Sigh....

I need to:

• Clear up my desk. Managed to clear one round a few months back but now mounds of letters, papers, school notes, kids drawings, forgotten pencils, rubber bands, hair ties and hair clips are piling up again. 

• Clear up the chest of drawers in the living room. 2 small drawers. But they are bursting and spilling over with notebooks, storybooks, random colour pencils, crayons, pom poms, art pieces from school, art work from home, paints, magic pens, etc. Managed to throw away a pile of stuff the other day while the girls were napping. Hope to clear more from these 2 drawers soon.

• Clear up the niche shelf in the living room. Same thing. Filling up with more drawings and artwork, bits and pieces of stuff from toys, other trinkets, school art pieces, furry pens, forgotten keychains, stationery, etc. 

• Clear up the kitchen cupboard filled with snacks and biscuits. Remnants from birthday goodie bags, half-eaten packets of biscuits leftover from the girls' whims and fancies. You get the drift. 

• Look through the cupboard above the niche shelf in the living room. I've not taken a good look in there for at least 2-3years and I believe there are stuff old enough to be discarded in there. Old towels or stuff that are probably yellow from mould and musty from age already. 

• Clear up the girls' wardrobes. There are old stuff that need to be packed or thrown or given away. There are new stuff too that need to be either opened up or given away. 

• Clear up my own wardrobe. Old clothes that I couldn't bear to throw away in past rounds of clearing are still hanging my cupboard. Part of me feels sentimental for some articles of clothing. Part of me bears a silent hope for a day to come when I will be able to wear them again. And another part of me just wants to throw them away. The internal struggle. It's real. Lol.

• Clear up the storeroom?? I have no idea what is in there actually. Things were conveniently shoved in there and then forgotten. I only have less than a 50% idea of the full list of things in there now. 
• Look through the drawers below our bed?? 4 big storage drawers, each almost filled to the brim. One contains my bags and undergarments so that's fine. The rest are filled with craft materials and the girls' things....

• Et cetera.......

Wah

This has got to be right up there as one of the most touching things someone has told me.
Came from ST, one of my team-mates and someone whom I brought into the team last last year. She's 5 years younger but I get along pretty well with her. Guess our values and approach to things are quite similar. 

"I always feel like you get me the most. 你懂我. Hahaha, next lifetime, I wanna be your sister!"

Wah.

Books...

We usually bring the girls to the Marine Parade library but parking is cumbersome there and there is not much shelter. 

Since it was raining on Sunday morning, I suggested to K to bring the girls to the library at Heartbeat@Bedok instead. 

It was a good move! The place was really nice and the kids section was comfortable and spacious. 

The layout was well-thought out and even had toys mounted on walls to occupy younger kids. 

When we bring the girls to the library, K and I would each have our own 15-20mins to search for our own materials and books. 

As usual, I ended up at the gardening section, which turned out to be quite difficult to find. 

And I ended up with these 2 books...:)

Hope to be able to learn more about both moss and bonsai...quite interested in these 2 things....

I Love You

The photo doesn't do this card justice. I swear it looks alot nicer in real life! 

As do alot of watercolour paintings....

To occupy the girls for a little while on Sunday morning, I plonked them at their desk in the living room and gave each of them a watercolour palette, water and brushes. 

And voila! Nadya came up with this card for "Mama and Dada" as well some other abstract art. 

I thought this card was simple, sweet and really pretty! 

Nice gradation of colour and good mix of blue and green...

Nadya was proud of this too and requested for it to be put up on the master bedroom wall...:D

I've been interested in watercolour painting....

Maybe I should "steal" their palettes and come up with some card designs myself....heh. 

My loves

We visited the Tsum Tsum Mid-Autumn Festival exhibition at Vivocity's SkyPark on Friday evening. 

The girls had fun and I got to admire the beautiful sunset. 

It's been ages since I saw such a pretty sight.

Bonus: Because we brought the helper along with us, I got to take uninterrupted wefies with K! 

And we managed to get a few minutes of "us" time here and there before one of the kids came to find us.