• New blog post: Twitter: Weekly updates from 05-05-2012 to 11-05-2012 – http://t.co/YmACTXlN 00:15:07, 2012-05-12
• Happy FNCHB-ing! ;) 10:47:33, 2012-05-12
• Kindle Owners' Lending Library. Hmm tempting. I already have enough toys, and I do love the smell of books – would I want a Kindle? 14:01:23, 2012-05-12
• blessed birthday @ljc!!! in reply to ljc 14:02:42, 2012-05-12
• Hmm okay, you gotta be an Amazon Prime member. Maybe I'll stick to Hastings library. ;P 14:05:10, 2012-05-12
• "I'll take health any day. Once the game's over, the king and the pawn go back into the same box." How true, MrJane. 16:04:32, 2012-05-12
• Every penny into the "Europe trip" account. 19 more weeks to go! 20:35:53, 2012-05-12
• AirAsia starting their sale at 4am 14th May (Msian time). At times like these, I wish I was still in Msia. 19:01:23, 2012-05-13
• Romantic dinner music: Super Mario Bros. Only in Sheldon's world. ;P 19:07:23, 2012-05-13
• I can haz stress-free week! Lemme get my "chill, bro" suit on. 21:49:24, 2012-05-13
• I did not forget and I'm in time. Happy Mother's day! It's 330am on a Sunday, where my momma is. 22:34:42, 2012-05-13
• I KNEW she would ask me this. There ain't no pharmfairy to cover all our hours, m'dear. 20:29:53, 2012-05-14
• Maybe I needn't go in early tmrow, but 1 newish pharmacist+1 new pharmacist+1 new trainee tech=possible chaos. 11.5hrs day it is, then. 22:19:50, 2012-05-15
• It only hits you when you finally sit down. My feet hurts. 21:42:10, 2012-05-16
• May I skip work today? I want to just laze around doing nothing. ;P 10:53:15, 2012-05-17
• I think there's a little something extra in the sushi…or maybe it's just a weird phase of craving rice? 10:55:15, 2012-05-17
• The world is right again when you have a friend to listen to your daily rant. Thanks, LiMay! 22:05:51, 2012-05-17
• Let's get some cleaning done! 09:09:34, 2012-05-18
• Die, flies, die!!! 11:30:10, 2012-05-18
• New blog post: Inspired – http://t.co/HY82aO1P 19:03:11, 2012-05-18
• New blog post: New blog header – http://t.co/eMxLhVUV 22:12:56, 2012-05-18
• Yay! Things worked out that I will have my "anniversary" off (and day after, too!). Fish&chips, 28th May, 4 years in HB/NZ. 23:36:23, 2012-05-18

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My new header – from scratch.
Sheep wanted to be part of it but didn’t want to be behind the fence.

Yes, it’s not the most canggih or complex but it’s a start…right? I like how ljcfyi changes her header according to season/occasion, so I added a bit of “autumn leaves” to signify that it’s autumn here in NZ.

Still lots to learn! May have to practise writing more with my tablet or may have to resort to scanning hand written words if I can’t improve my penmanship on the tablet.

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Where did all my time go today? I was supposed to clean!

Even Sheep was ready to clean! Had its ears tied back, too.

I got distracted by two blogs today, spent (too much) time clicking through their pages. Then I got sleepy and took a nap…

I was sent to “Life is Great” while searching online whether my pandan cake and ginger-infused buttercream would work. Even better, gula melaka buttercream! Can’t wait to try making some cupcakes with her adapted recipe!

I also came across “Still Living in a Fairytale” on Nuffnang’s page (last month’s featured blogger), which coincided with me trying to read/look for tutorials on how to “draw cute cartoons”.

Yes, I’m all over and not very consistent with one particular interest. Maybe it’s a form of escapism, maybe it’s short attention/interest span, maybe it’s greed (yea, greedy for more skills/talents), maybe it’s wanting to know everything…

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• New blog post: Twitter: Weekly updates from 28-04-2012 to 04-05-2012 – http://t.co/2m7tSiRI 00:08:19, 2012-05-05
• As girl-teddy as it gets. Didn't want to risk cacat faces so didn't use lighter brown melts to draw snout http://t.co/OVg8eNXx 08:30:23, 2012-05-05
• Flower-power cake pops, anyone? http://t.co/aMDGnn5P 08:31:20, 2012-05-05
• Our part of the baby shower – cake pops and cupcakes. Diaper cake as centrepiece. http://t.co/VUVVPkBe 22:29:29, 2012-05-05
• Thanks, @hazelgss! in reply to hazelgss 07:55:20, 2012-05-06
• Finished reading "Still Alice" in the past two days here. Scary, sad, eye-opener, real. 09:27:28, 2012-05-06
• Back in AKL airport waiting to go back to NPE. Holiday over. Thought of work has started – so many things to do! 10:28:06, 2012-05-06
• Flight arrived slightly later than scheduled – bringing my car park charge 30mins into the 4th day. Boo! 12:55:01, 2012-05-06
• New blog post: First baby shower – http://t.co/5KZC2AJJ 16:48:53, 2012-05-06
• Thanksgiving http://t.co/V5H0XRtO 17:12:14, 2012-05-06
• New blog post: FOUR! – http://t.co/YaXXAcxg 17:29:17, 2012-05-06
• New blog post: Not that great – http://t.co/0xdpkwvs 21:01:32, 2012-05-06
• I want to move to another country. Perhaps 4 years is my limit. 16:43:17, 2012-05-08
• Was asked to help with crèche and I said no. I'm not patient/good with kids. Would this be God's way of teaching me patience? 20:19:15, 2012-05-08
• New blog post: HK revisited by photos: Getting there – http://t.co/et3mDoQo 21:05:36, 2012-05-08
• New blog post: HK revisited by photos: Eating – http://t.co/RLifL8DK 22:02:24, 2012-05-08
• New blog post: HK revisited by photos: Art jamming – http://t.co/mP6d2FAW 22:45:18, 2012-05-08
• Did you see my lazy as blog postings? It's been 8 months! 18:56:33, 2012-05-09
• I love my phone for the fact that it's a multitasking tool but I love paper and pen waaaaaayyyyy more when it comes to notes and lists. ;) 18:59:24, 2012-05-09
• New blog post: Redundant – http://t.co/n8JCuMMg 10:50:26, 2012-05-11
• Yay! Got my tax credit. Super speedy! 22:33:57, 2012-05-11
• Rain rain rain rain. There'd better be sun tomorrow! 23:16:26, 2012-05-11

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What’s the point of having a system if it gets ignored/overridden by people not within the system or are affected by the disruption? Then you get told to sort it out after it gets messed up. Sad to say, this is not the first time, too.
Could have been avoided if they took 2 seconds to ask/look – all our information are accessible to them!

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Photo of Jeslyn and myself, taken in Sabah September 2011

D:

I am the worst godmother ever!
How could I have forgotten she turned 4 on 4th May?!
Here is hoping she does not know what is 小氣 yet.

Another year older! May you grow up, never losing that sweet and cheerful disposition; and may you excel in all that you set your mind and heart to.
Sending lots of love and happy thoughts all the way from NZ!

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Let’s revive this dead blog with a recent activity – visiting LiMay and Grant in Whangarei and organising a baby shower for them!

I don’t know if it’s true but I read somewhere that a bride’s MOH will also be the one planning her baby shower(s). I am unaware of that (non) tradition but I was excited to help LiMay plan her baby shower! What better excuse to buy all those party stuff?! I felt like I could finally “pay back” for the pre-wedding parties that I couldn’t plan/attend.

Now, before I show you the photos, I’d like to insert a note (lest people start commenting about the personalised stickers ) :
Being a n00b (I think this is my first baby shower – planning or attending), I don’t know why I was sooooooooooooo fixated on the baby’s name. I thought it was supposed to be “[insert baby's name]‘s baby shower”…I even asked LiMay if they have thought of a name for their baby yet (when I was putting in the order for her). I found out a week before the baby shower that it’s supposed to be “[insert mother's name]‘s baby shower”. I made it sound like I was planning a shower for a single mother; or I didn’t know the difference between Miss/Ms/Mrs.

(True enough one of the guests commented that it’s supposed to be “Mrs Morgan”, not “Miss Morgan” and I had to explained my mistake… )

Oh well, next time I’ll know! If there would be another “next time” as a planner-zilla.

*hehe*

I had many many ideas and wanted to buy many many things; but as us regular folks are, we have a budget. The ideas didn’t come right at the get go, it took a while. Looking at other people’s (friends of friends on Facebook – so happen there were a few baby showers, too) photos and also looking at party websites online. It helps that the mother-to-be is relaxed and gave me free reign. *cue evil laugh*

To be honest, I am not comfortable being a hostess. I don’t mind planning and decorating and serving food (read: being behind the scenes) but I feel awkward when you ask of more from me (except if the group of people are close friends that I can be myself with). It was out of my comfort zone to address a bunch of ladies I’m not familiar with (you hear that, LiMay? It’s all for you! ), maybe that’s why I was perspiring while the other ladies were feeling cold. To be fair, the ladies were also self entertaining (phew!).

Newborn nappies I got LiMay to help buy when it was on special – it’s for the pièce de résistance (at least, it is to me). Didn’t have the exact tools that the YouTube video asked for but we made do.

The only thing that fits the personalised labels without too much trouble.

We haven’t got a photo together but here is one of LiMay cooking lunch for me (ah! Blessed!) while I slowly tied the ribbons on the favour boxes.

Favours all ready to go!

I took one of the mini buckets home.

Prep for cake pops.
I was worried the teddy bears wouldn’t turn out so we had some of the cake pops dipped in the original shape covered with sprinkles.

Tadaaa!
Tried to put more details but we decided to stick to this. Did not want to risk mutilating the teddies. Does it look girly enough?

Some paper pom-poms and a baby shower banner.
Initially when I took all the decorations out of my bag, I thought we may not have enough to make it look…party-ish. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it all came together nice and girly! Pink everywhere! I told LiMay that I’ve never planned a party that looked like a party (if that made sense), so it made me feel very happy when I looked around and it’s all so pretty!

Anyone else needs my service?

I don’t have a photo of the full table (when the rest of the guests arrived and they brought their platter) but it was even prettier! Mini sandwiches, mini quiches, scones, mini pancakes, punch…all very dainty! I regret not snapping more photos of the table. I was too conscious about being thought as “how typically Asian/Chinese” to be snapping photos of food.

See the teddies?

Little terracotta pots with food tags (not like they won’t know/need to know but it was just part of the deco).

This was LiMay and my contributions to the table (photo taken before the guests arrived).

Sheep wanted to be on the diaper cake, too!
Quite happy with how it turned out (thanks to the YouTube video from BigDotOfHappiness) even when I had to improvise.

Grant mentioned that because of all we had to do for the baby shower, I didn’t really have a holiday. It wasn’t a holiday holiday but I had lots of fun preparing for the shower. LiMay took the day off on Friday so we could spend some time together (because I had an early flight back to HawkesBay today) but she was put to work, too!

There’s this unexplainable satisfaction to see plans and ideas work out (and make other people happy…hopefully). After (what felt like) a terrible month of “nothing works”, this was a great pick up. That is a holiday in its own right.

May your baby grow up healthy, kind, joyful, smart and may Jesus be the centre of her life, so that love would also flow abundantly from her.
xoxo FeR

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• New blog post: Twitter: Weekly updates from 21-04-2012 to 27-04-2012 – http://t.co/bAKZ23bq 00:18:22, 2012-04-28
• Cannot catch a break.
  Problems mistakes complaints deadlines stupidities.
  This is why you see me at work even on my days off. 08:43:13, 2012-04-28
• Party planning is not cheap/easy – even when you are trying to be as cheap as possible. I don't want to think of how much I've spent. 13:49:03, 2012-04-28
• When the days get colder, I fall off the radar. I'm still kicking, just not that motivated. I should update blog but…shoulda woulda coulda 22:28:07, 2012-04-28
• Yay to finally completing 15 vaccinations. Boo to Kath feeling unwell after. It can't be from vaccine but still feeling bad she feels yuck. 22:32:43, 2012-04-30
• Mutated teddy cake pop. Hopefully by this Saturday they will look like normal teddys! http://t.co/DwNTfo7J 21:53:24, 2012-05-01
• Thought we can finally put April behind us and get a clean slate…then a rather serious dispensing error was found. Where is my break? 21:55:03, 2012-05-01
• My long wkend starts today! Apt word from ODB: Walk Away From Worry http://t.co/D63jUs8m via @ourdailybread 08:34:45, 2012-05-03
• Mutated teddy cake pops got thumbs up from friends in the taste department. Now to make it look better. http://t.co/oJAMT5V2 08:40:48, 2012-05-03
• Perfect landing by Anita Woodhill & Heather Kennedy for the NPE-AKL @FlyAirNZ flight! No bumps. 14:10:17, 2012-05-03
• Ooo! Where are we going with all these pretty pens? http://t.co/Hm5LSn0z 14:25:07, 2012-05-03
• In WRE airport. Apparently 16°C but it's hot in the sun! I hope I'm not forgotten… ;P 15:39:40, 2012-05-03
• Nappy cake done! http://t.co/jtNC3PvO 21:29:13, 2012-05-03

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• New blog post: Twitter: Weekly updates from 14-04-2012 to 20-04-2012 – http://t.co/7RTYqboA 00:08:18, 2012-04-21
• I need to destress. Accidentally threw out Jaime's papers! Thankfully shredder bin doesn't go out everyday. Phew! 10:31:05, 2012-04-21
• Anna Friel is British??? I would never have known if I didn't watch the extra clips on DVD. 15:07:23, 2012-04-21
• DF's the best IT support person ever! I thought we've past the "trying to log onto VPN from Mac" but today he sent me a solution. Bless him! 23:02:55, 2012-04-22
• Maybe it's the Fluclox, maybe it was the fatty food – had a weird dream yesterday. I saw family, flatmate, detectives, run down homes. Hmm 08:34:17, 2012-04-27

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