Our 6th Wedding Anniversary

How time flies! We've been married 6 years now (21st Sept) and Hans is already 5, and Natalie coming to 2 years old this December. So thankful to God for his faithfulness, and provision to us all these while.

We went to an American restaurant, Buckaroo, tucked away from the crowd, along Sembawang Park (near the beach). My mom helped to take care of the kids while we took "time-out" to "celebrate" our 6th year together.

This picture was taken in the children's church play area. Hans was in the Sunday School, so he wasn't with us at that time.

It wasn't smooth sailing throughout these 6 years, with my husband's unemployment for almost 3 years when Hans was around 2 years old, we decided that he'll do his post-grad studies during this period of unemployment. Just after we received news that he was accepted for the MBA program at NUS, I found out that I was pregnant with our 2nd child.

Excited at the prospect of a 2nd kid along the way, we were also a bit concerned about the timing (unemployment, just starting a post-grad studies, pregnancy). Back then, everything started to accumulate, and I began to feel the heat in trying to do a balancing act of being a wife, mother, and work, plus ministry in church.

However, we continued to put our hope in God, and submitted everything into His hands, knowing that He has not forgotten nor forsaken us. We just cling on to His promises, though the "tunnel" seems very long, as we cant see the "light at the end " of it.

Now, (4 years on) I'm attesting to the faithfulness of God. My pregnancy went smoothly, and Natalie was born at 39 weeks on Dec 8 2006 in a smooth and relatively short labour/delivery when my husband was in the middle of his school term. Following that, my husband completed his studies around October 2007, and was offered a job with a Japanese MNC before completing his final exam. The period of unemployment over, Natalie coming to 2 years old, I'm also happily settled at home again being a stay home Mom to the kids, having my own "income" by setting up my online shops Winniel & The Laughing House. Oh, and I'm also back at the music ministry in church after taking an "extended maternity leave" :)

If I were to recount them all, blessings and the lessons learnt, it'll be too long. What I can "carry" with me as we move into our 7th year is, "marriage is fragile, handle with care". Our pastor encouraged us and another young couple from church (few days ago) that most importantly, we are to stay committed, communicative, and forgiving towards each other. At the same time depending on God to fill our "love-tank" daily, so that we can give our best to our spouse, and wont be frustrated, disappointed and resentful when they fail to do so. Each "giving" we receive from them, becomes a bonus instead of taking it for granted as "our right".

Jogging Log: Day 8

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down,his friend can help him up.But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

My first week of resuming jogging saw me enthusiastically going for a whooping 5 days. My second week, a miserable 1 day :D. I had legitimate reasons for not running though (according to me...*lol*) as I had to run several errands that week. By the end of 2nd week, I'm still keen to pick up where I left it at.

However, in the 3rd week, I found myself on the verge of losing the momentum completely, and the enthusiasm waning. "There are more important things to do, and I needed to rush them." were some of the excuses creeping into my mind.

Until, a friend of mine sent me a short message on my cell phone, saying that she has resumed jogging too, and encouraged me to keep it up as well. She probably found out that I started jogging again through this blog (yes, you know who you are ;) )

That extra bit of push, was all that I needed to go for it again. The verse from Ecclesiastes 4 came to my mind as I wrote this, and showed me again the wisdom of accountability. In my case, it's through this blog, and my readers. Though jogging is a personal decision (that probably wont directly benefit nor harm others), I know that by keeping it up, and achieving my set goals, I will reap the immediate benefits... satisfaction & confidence in achieving goals, better health, time alone for myself etc, to name a few.

Though it's only day 8, I'm happy to reach this day. For the record, I ran 2.5km on day 7, plus 1km of warm up and cooling down before and after the run. Feeling comfortable with that already, I set out to run 3km today, and completed it, covering a total distance of 4km including the warm up/cooling down walk.

If you are a beginner runner like me, or an experienced runner getting a bit lazy, I hope this post will encourage you to persevere. Through my run so far, I've enjoyed a peaceful "me-time" of reflection, and thinking through many things. One of the "lessons" learnt is the parallel of running in terms of:

1.  Start slow and steady

2. Pace myself

3. Be patient

4. Don't try to overtake other runners by changing my momentum when I'm not ready for it.

5. Realizing that I can go longer distance with strategy.

6. Take it one step at a time, one jog at a time.

7. Set goals (my first goal, will be to run a 5km, I'm at 3km now, halfway through!)

These "tid-bits" are useful and applicable to many other things in life!

Now, I'll just have to go out there, and run my Day 9 run.

Black Diamond

Introducing BLACK DIAMOND, my long overdue 3 inches earring.

I love using the picture of this girl for photo-taking purpose, because of the generous size of the picture, it works wonderfully for taking pictures of my earrings! It easily shows how it'll look on the ear, without having any "model" to wear them ;) *Perfecto!!!*

Made with Swarovski Crystals, this long dangly earring is great for office wear, because of its conservative colour : Black. I dont think it's too dressy for the office, as the main crystal (a beautiful 14mm faceted round piece fashioned in a wavy seduction) is what most will notice immediately.

The 3 black bicones that formed the "train" is discreet, adding length, fluid movement and feminity to the otherwise plain-looking earring. This additional characteristic, is what will allow you to transform from your office wear, into evening wear/function, effortlessly!

I'm sure you'll love it! Please visit WINNIEL's for more signature jewelry, or click HERE for more details of BLACK DIAMOND.

Thank you for looking ;)

Happy Birthday, Hans Reuben!!!

My son, Hans turned 5 today on 23 Sept 2008. He's been looking forward to this day since June or July! Hehe... that's quite a loooong wait for a 4 year old :D

From time to time, he'll be looking at the calendar, and asked what month of the year (the present) was, and it was June. The next day, he'll ask the same thing....all the way, until it was the end of June. And when July came, he'll greet it happily, knowing its a month closer to September!

He's been quite fascinated with Thomas The Train, and off-handedly told my husband that he wants another Thomas. He already had one, so we decided to buy him a Thomas cake instead :D

The birthday boy, moments before cutting his cake. 

A well respected prophet from New Zealand (Pastor John Steele) had ever prayed and prophesied over him, that he's got a sensitive heart and spirit. And one day, God will use him in the prophetic way. Amen! But until then, the road is still long....... 

I'm not quite sure what it was, but he seemed a little disappointed or upset about something today. And he didn't smile/laugh as much as we thought we would be, on his long awaited special day. I'm keeping a mental note to ask him later when all's quiet and settled. Hopefully he'll be able to share some things from his young heart, that can get bruised quite easily as a little boy.

My Mom and Brother bought him a car-racing track/toy, that's pretty fancy and quite difficult to assemble. Worried that my 21 months old daughter Natalie would feel left out, my Mom decided to get her a toy as well, a Doodle-bear. Quite a fun toy, where you can doodle and draw on it, and still have it easily washed away (machine-wash). She loved it. Me too...*lol*

My husband and I have already decided to get him a daily devotional for 5 year olds. Unfortunately, that book was out of stock when we went to the store yesterday :( So, we decided on another book, short stories of Bible Heroes, with accompanying short verses from the bible, and the biblical values learnt from that character. This book also comes with 2 cds, of sing along songs for that particular story.

His first real bible (for toddlers) is already quite torn and tattered, as he loved reading it. I wont be surprised if he has already read the entire book (as thick as an adults bible, but filled with fun colourful pictures) cover to cover! We thought this will be a great continuation for him to familiarize himself with scripture verses, in a fun and engaging way.

It's our desire that he'll love God's word, which will be a guiding wisdom and protection that'll bring him blessings and favour in his future.

Happy 5th Birthday Hans, YOU are SPECIAL to us, and we love you! God Bless YOU!!!

"Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path."  

Psalm 119:105

My 1st Completed Project

My very 1st completed project, a quilted style cushion cover. I used the "zig-zag" function to top-stitch over the lines. 

One thing that attracted me to buy the BROTHER sewing machine was its 2 sessions of free sewing lesson. Especially for a complete beginner like me, those 2 lessons were invaluable. 

The 1st session (2 hr) was an introduction to my machine, and its various functions, stitches, and creating a button hole etc. It was really fun, and I looked forward to the 2nd session, where I'll be taught how to make a "quilted style" cushion cover.

I had to pay S$8.00 for the materials from them, which comprises of 1/2 metre each of 2 different fabrics,  quilt batting, and choice of 2 buttons, or 1 zipper. I chose my material, (not much to choose from though... lol) and zip. Had to bring them home and cut them up first, in preparation of the 2nd session.

I realized that, even measuring and cutting the material can be so much work, and tedious, hehe... but, I was glad I did my "homework".  Because, as it turned out, the 2 hours during the 2nd session was barely enough for me to complete my project.

The trainer was a very nice and patient lady, who taught me step by step and gave compliments along the way, which was very encouraging!

The almost 3 hour session had me complete joining the pieces together into this wonderful cushion cover. I was really satisfied and happy with the accomplishment. :D

Sewing Apprentice

You can say, this is kinda like "on the job training" for me ;) I'm asking my mom to give me "learning opportunities" to take up sewing slowly. So here are my first "assignment" hehe...

These are the fabric that she has cut and partially sewn one one side with the padding. I need to sew them by hand first, and then run them over the machine. 

Need to sew them over the inner lining fabric, making sure that it's nicely sitting over it, as the padding may cause the fabric at the bottom to "run" and get skewed if I dont adjust it from time to time.

All these pieces are to be the side of the Organizer Clutch Wristlet, such as the one you see in the last picture below.

This will be the strap used for the wristlet. All these work are really fun, and boost my confidence, as it's assignments that are still within my skill limit. So far, I've sewn all the labels for the inner linings, the side portion and the straps here. 

However for all the finishing touches, my mom will not let me do them yet, as it requires better skill than what I can present at the moment. I'll work on a complete piece from beginning to end all by myself on an item thats not for sale instead. Which she'll guide me along in a few days time ;) *excited*

This is how an Organizer Clutch Wristlet looks like after she attaches all the different parts and pieces which I've helped to sew individually earlier on. This piece is about 80% completed. To see the finished item, check it out here :)

From Japan With Love ♥

This is a continued "update" on some of the "fun" things my husband bought for me from his trip to Japan 2 weeks ago ;)

One of our friend in church asked him to help her buy Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil, saying that it's much cheaper if bought from Japan's Narita Airport. I vaguely remembered seeing an advertisement about it from the magazine. So I asked him to please get me some to try as well. He bought the travel size pack for me, in 4 different colours, for 4 different skin types! *lol* 

"I thought I told you what my skin type was?" and he replied that it's better to get all 4, so that I can try them and know which is best suited for me. Haha.... do ALL men think that way? Or is it just my husband?

Anyways, I've been using the yellow coloured one: High Performance Balancing Cleansing Oil Classic (Shu Uemura's signature cleansing oil). I love it! It has a mild refreshing scent that's well balanced, and my skin dont feel taut after cleansing, but "just nice" :) If I'm not mistaken, it seems to be a make up remover (cleanser). But I love it so much, and have been using it for my daily facial cleansing (as my friend does too) :D

The Japanese are well known for their cute items, and also their obsession with umbrellas. So I asked him to get me a lightweight one. He got me this simple white/lightbrown striped umbrella on his first day there, when he met up with my oldest brother (who lives in Tokyo). My new umbrella is lovely, but I find it small when opened up. I think I'll get drenched if used during a typical heavy downpour in Singapore. Perhaps its meant for a "Sun" umbrella ... which will be perfect then :)

I also love buying small pouches and purses, and has quite a collection (which I dont really use, hehe... but I just love buying them!). If you realized that I opened an online shop (The Laughing House) dedicated to selling pouch/purse, then you'll know what one of my "material love/weakness" is, hehe...:P 

I love this pretty and compact pouch he bought, it comes with a cute foldable mirror as well ;) Goody! Cus I dont have one, and sometimes wished I have one when I'm outside, and really want to check my teeth/nose...whatever! :D

I also asked him to get me some underwear (in my mind, 2 pieces will be great) and he got me these 5 pieces. I wont open them up for photo-taking, hehe....but they are pretty, and true to Japanese Kawaii consistencies (*0*)

Almost towards the end of his buying list, are these 2 fashion magazines. I love flipping through fashion magazines, especially those with lots of pictures! I'd love being able to read the contents, but its ok :) I'm happy looking at what the Japanese are wearing, buying etc.

They are very creative, and pretty bold in their dress sense. Bold not so much in the revealing aspect, but in their "dare to express" sense :) Love the clothes/bags/shoes/accessories in the black magazine on the right. Cus the photographs are big, and "neatly" put together....less words too! haha... Well, perhaps that magazine appeals more to people in my age group, compared to the "younger" group targeted one on the left *grin*

There are still 2 more items to "feature" which I'll add next time :) All in, I love my Japanese goodies, knowing that they were bought with love from a "non-shopping-lover" husband :D

*hugs*

Blessings We Receive When We Are Thankful

I hardly follow (nor am I really interested) the news about the financial industry. However, yesterday's headlines about the fall of the Lehman Brothers a financial giant in the US do not escape my attention.

Today's front page headline in the newspaper is another one, "AIG FIGHTS FOR ITS LIFE". This brings the reality closer to home. I'm not familiar with Lehman Brothers, but AIG being the parent company of one of the major insurance company AIA, which holds about 2 million policy holder in Singapore, is one that I can "recognize".

I'm just amazed, (though not quite caught by surprise) that "giants" can collapse literally overnight. I realized those "giants" actually appeared as giants to us, due to some complex "image-management", while in reality, they are "leaning" onto each other for support. In simpler term that I can see better is, the dominoe tiles I loved to play with as a kid. Push one over, and it'll fall onto the one next to it, and on it goes. So, these "giants" are like the tiles in the dominoe game.

Before my mind had a chance to wonder into the real repercussion collapsing "giants" have on us (common people on the ground) I decided to stop reading the newspaper, and immediately turn to my Bible, and daily devotional book.

From today's reading, I picked up 3 truths from 1 Chronicles 16:23-34 (New Living Translation Bible)

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1. "Each day proclaims the good news that he saves." (Thank you God!)

2. "The gods of other nations are merely idols, but the Lord made the heavens." (What is your idol?)

3. "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His faithful love endures forever."

WOW! I have a God who embodies the very thing I (and you) are looking for:

- goodness

- faithful love (strong support!)

Then, I was led to write down 10 things that I can be thankful for: (not in any particular order)

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- Good health for everyone in my family.

- A wonderful & supportive husband.

- My children, Hans & Natalie. And also being available to them in their early years by being a stay-home mom. Giving many little hugs & kisses throughout the day, and disciplining them when the need arises. (don't be mistaken, I messed up often, and still learning the ropes of being a mom)

- My mom's short term visit now, helping me in many ways!

- Opportunity to learn how to sew ;)

- A shot in trying my hands at doing a small business from home. 

- My church family, vibrant & alive, with strong pastoral leadership team.

- Living in Singapore (safe, clean, good government)

- A good job for my husband. (He was unemployed 2 years ago, for a period of 2 years)

- Peace & harmony at home.

So thankful to God for these, and many more! If you've never done this, I invite you to join me today, to start counting your blessings one by one. Don't hurriedly skim over them as you would the food section of your Saturday newspaper :) ...  practice to be scripturally thankful because of WHO God is.

"O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His loving kindness is everlasting."

1 Chronicles 16:34

Jogging Log: Day 6

I did not jog on Saturday & Sunday as I had to go out, and was quite beat by the time I'm home. Come to think of it, I actually jogged 5 days last week, hehe... perhaps I was really enthusiastic on my 1st week of resuming jogging again ;) Let's hope the "flame" will keep burning!

For day 4 and 5, I stuck to the same 1W 4R 1W routine, covering a total of 3.0km, but only jogging the middle 4 rounds (2.0km). I thought the last 2 jog were pretty comfortable, so I decided to attempt a 5 rounds today.

Again, I realized that pacing is the trick. If I'm patient and paced myself well, I figured I could have covered a longer distance. But since I've already set my mind to run a 2.5km, I paced my jog to cover exactly that.

Walked the 1st 500m, then start off with a very sloooow jog for my 1st round (anybody can keep up beside me by walking, lol..) after I'm properly warmed up, I increased my pace just a wee bit during the 2nd round. By then, I'm moving into nice momentum, and just kept it up into my 3rd round. By the 4th round, I was eager to pick up more speed, and did just that. With a nice rhythmic jog I completed the 5th round, and frankly speaking, dont quite feel like stopping. But I stopped anyway, as I want to build up my pace and distance covered really slowly.

I'm really enjoying these jogs as I'm learning the values of patience, and perseverance. Taking it one step at a time, one day at a time. I see it as the parallel to my quest of learning how to sew. Although I dont have that much time to sit down and really learn it, (but) it's actually this very fact (the lack of time) that made me a little impatient at times, to want to learn and pick up as much as possible in the shortest possible time. Don't think that'll be a good idea.

Similarly as my objective to run a 5km run eventually, my attempt at learning how to sew, need to be done patiently, and with "tack". Meaning, I need to "pace" myself well, so that I wont "burn too much oil" in the early phases and will have enough to last me till I cross the finishing line. Amen! ;)

My 1st Sewing Machine

I've finally bought myself a sewing machine ;) a first step attempt at learning sewing from my mom, since she's here for a long visit. I've been wanting to learn for the longest time, but never took any action at all, partly because my kids are still small, and I dont think it's a good idea to pick up a new skill at the moment. 

However, I've changed my attitude about it, as any time is as good (or bad) as now, hehe... so, I should do it while I'm still interested. On top of this, custom orders at my shop The Laughing House has been brisk as long as I'm able to catch up with the orders. As the shop owner, and totally relying on my mom for the manufacturing is really not a great idea.

So, while I'm not that ambitious as to expect to pick up sewing overnight, I'm prepared to start from scratch and be an apprentice with whatever time (and if I'm in the mood for it) I have during my mom's 2 months stay here. 

We decided this simple BROTHER model over the more functional models as I like the clean simple look of this machine. Besides, my mom kept telling me, the most basic function is enough for me, since I'm a total beginner. At S$159, we felt this was a steal!

This is my mom working on a 3in1 Organizer Purse. The 1st try at the machine gave us a false scare thinking that this machine is too "light" for our projects after all. As my mom is also very new to this "new technology" sewing machine over the old pedal type of machine she was used to. So, her first attempt at warming up to the machine always brought her to a "halt" and the needle sounding heavy and "overworked". 

Thankfully (and I prayed to God to help us tide this one, as I really dont want to go through the hassle of changing the machine) she managed to get the hang of it during her 2nd try, and successfully completed a 3in1 Organizer Purse, one of The Laughing House's best seller.

This is one in the making. As you can see, we need to sew over several layers, and especially around the piping, and zip, where we need to fold it over, it's really too thick for the needle to run through it smoothly. So, we gotta do those "manually" by turning on the knob at the side of the machine, for the needle to "walk" through, instead of "run" :)

All in, we are both happy with our new BROTHER now. And me, I'm still sneaking in a look every now and then, only when my kids are napping in the afternoon, hehe... wish me luck! 

Get Paid for Extra Space on Your Website!

I stumbled upon Ask2Link through another blog earlier today. Founded in 2007 it is an Internet advertising company that allows bloggers to monetize extra spaces in their websites and blogs.

All you have to do is embed their code on your website and you could start generating extra income from your website. 



Benefits for publishers:

1. Easily monetize extra space (such as header, footer, or sidebar) of your website
   
2. Get your paychecks through PayPal every month. Minimum payment is only $10.00
   
3. You set your own prices. (I set mine to $16, according to the pricing guideline set on their site)
   
4. They handle the payment for you with their credit card payment solution.
   
5. Their streamlined payment flow is optimized for conversion.
   
6. Easy and simple 1,2,3 integration.
   
7. They accept international publishers. What you need is simply a website and a PayPal account.
   

Easy peasy... ;) I've just joined, would you be interested too?

Jogging Log: Day 3

I managed to do my 2nd day of "run" yesterday, completing yet another 1W 3R 1W, meaning... 1st round : walked, next 3 rounds: jogged, last round: walked. Each round covers a distance of 500m.

When I went down for the jog, I already have in mind to complete another 3 rounds, just like the 1st day. The 1st 2 rounds were comfortable for me, and towards the final round, I increased my pace just a wee bit, and was actually quite tempted to go on to a 4th round. But I decided to stop at 3 rounds, since it was only my 2nd day of jogging after months of slacking :D

Today, I set out to do 4 rounds, and did just that ;) So, it was a 1W 4R 1W. After completing the 2km jog, I knew that it's probably near my limit, so this distance will be what I'll be aiming to cover for my next few jogs. Until a time when I'm covering this comfortably, then I'll increase it to a 2.5km jog.

The weather has been really cooperative these days, the sun shines brightly, and the sky is blue. The clouds makes for beautiful artwork up there, so...the jog at 6pm these 2 days, have been such a pleasure. It also lets my eyes "rest" from being "coop-ed" up in the small flat, and enjoys the wide open space. As from my past jogs, I knew that this is a great "quiet" time for me. Time to reflect, time to pray, time to "pace" myself.

Really appreciate having my mom around when she comes over to visit, cus I'm able to do all this more regularly. When she goes back to Indonesia in a month's time, I may have to re-schedule everything again. But, till then...I'm going to enjoy the regular jogs now ;)

More FULLY Knotted Pearl Necklaces!

This was the 1st set I did, just plain fully knotted pearls (lavender) with no additional design whatsoever. Often times, simple... is really the best, and most versatile ;)

This was the 2nd set I completed just this afternoon, using pearls in peach colour. I only have a single strand measuring 16", and I figured, it'll be too short for my desired length of 18-20", hence I decided to add those crystal rondelles, and have it accented with tiny faceted fine silver (99.9%) beads. Everything blend nicely together, and to the undiscerning eye, it may seem like it's all pearls. But on closer look, you'll notice the added bling from the crystals. Pretty, puts you in the mood for some fairy tale! lol...

Whenever I go to my supplier (which is very far in between now), I always find it hard to resist the Pearls, and would find myself getting more strands, when I already have a boxful of it at home. But I'll tell myself, these Pearls are so pretty in itself, and that all girls/women must have at least one piece in their jewelry box! lol.... so, my hoarding continues ;)

As part of my effort to stock up my shop, I decided to work on more fully knotted Pearl Necklaces, and completed my 2nd set today. Check them out at WINNIEL ♥ 

Back from Japan...Finally!!!

I did ask him to buy some local snacks back, but not this much! (There are more which I'm too lazy to take a snapshot of) In fact, the ones that I was looking forward to are those glutinous rice cakes type (kinda like the mooncake/muah-chee style for the local context). These, are mostly junk food kinda snacks, much to the delight of Hans (my 5yr old son)

These are called "Tokyo Banana", basically soft (very soft) sponge cakes with banana flavoured creamy fillings. They are shaped like bananas too, and packed individually. The Japanese are world renowned "marketing/packaging" fanatics (I meant this positively of cos ;) ) unfortunately, their enthusiasm at packaging everything, down to the T means a sky-rocketing of ordinary food prices. I did not manage to take the pictures of some other cakes, but those turned out to be ordinary sponge cakes, but cut into 2x2" squares, and packed individually. Now, arent they diligent?? lol....*shakes head too*

My husband came back from Japan last Saturday, after a week there. For me and my kids, this past one week seems very long, as we were counting the days when we can go to the airport and fetch him. Hehe... 

Thankfully, my mom came over a day after he left for Japan, so the absence of 1 person from the family was not as sorely missed. I've also prepared myself mentally, and had planned to keep the week packed with activities...so, it was a good week for us overall ;)

To make it up for him not bringing me along, I've drafted a shopping list for him (haha...) and here are some pictures of the food he brought back. Well, I'll be posting the other items  in several posts instead of a single one, else this post will be flooded with pictures, hehe...:D

Dying to try some of these goodies? Feel free to drop by my house, I'm sure we'll still have lots of them to share :D

Jogging Log: Day 1

I've finally started jogging again yesterday, after months of procrastinating. In fact, this started without me really planning on going jogging. I was preparing my tools and pearls to make my next necklace, and my eyes & neck just felt tired. My kids and hubby were still taking their afternoon nap, the weather outside is great. So, I decided to just go out for some fresh air.

One round around the park near where I stay, is 500m. I walked around it once, just to get myself warmed up, then I started on a slow jog. I had to keep telling myself, go slow, go reallllly slooow. Hehe....not that I'm a sprinter or anything like that, in fact far from it!

Running, or jogging, is simply my weakest link, and I've learnt from past experiences, that I'll get burnt out easily if I started out too fast for my body's comfort.

With the slow jog (in fact, it was more like a shuffle...haha) I found myself enjoying the 1st round, and the 2nd round. Wanting to keep building on this in the days to come, I kept telling myself, go easy, and not push myself, since it's my 1st "jog" in months.

Finally I stopped after the 3rd round (1.5km) and finished off the 5th round with a walk as a "cool-down". By then, I was alrd perspiring, and my body comfortably warmed up. It's amazing how light the body and joints felt after a good round of exercise, quite the opposite from moments before I started the jog.

Very satisfied with my first day of jogging again, I decide to maintain this distance for the next few jogs before increasing it to 2.0km. 

Have you been procrastinating on an exercise plan for yourself? Just get up and do it, I know... the 1st step out is the most difficult step to take. But you'll be on your way, once you took that very FIRST step. Go for it! :)

(My personal log for today: 1W 3R 1W, covering a total distance of 2.5km)

Sharing Love

I was pleasantly surprised to hear from Gina of The Clan McLeod saying that she loved my jewelries and would like to feature them in her blog! This doesnt come knocking on my door daily, so of course, it's a great priviledge!

I've also sponsored a contest giveaway in support of the shop/blog review, so for those interested, please visit her blog at The Clan McLeod for more details :D

Who knows, you may be the ONE lucky winner :)))

Cheers,
Winniel

An Apple A Day...

My MacBook crashed all of a sudden last Tuesday, though it has been showing signs of "distress" few moments before it failed on me.

It was promptly sent out for servicing the following day, with no guarantee that they'll be able to retain all the data I have stored inside.

That reality didnt sink in immediately, what I experienced as an immediate after effect of an "Apple-less" day, is truly withdrawal symptoms...haha

I felt slightly handicapped without having any pictures (photographs) to work on for my shops/blog/flickr etc, not to mention the inconvenience of having to adapt to my husband's laptop which works under the function of Microsoft Windows.

This reminds me of my early Apple days, when I'd complain to my husband how "un"-user-friendly it was. But, I've stuck with it the past 1 year, and gotta admit, I dont miss my Microsoft days, hehe...

Well, I've got my Apple back today, and my worst fear confirmed. All data lost, all pictures gone... *sigh* The loss isnt that great in regard to my small business, since majority are uploaded to my Flickr account alrd, except for some of our latest custom order Organizer Purses in new fabrics. But the loss is considerably great in regard to family/personal photographs, as ALL of my daughter's pictures from birth to now (almost 2 yrs) are all in there, and not a single one printed out yet... :( *boohoo...*hik*hik*

Looking at the bright side of it, I've learnt a simple lesson from this: Always keep a backup for ALL data/photographs that matter to you, and not wait till your computer finds it a burden to carry so much on your behalf.