craft/guest room

i went to the new house yesterday afternoon with the full intention of emptying suitcases, hang clothes in the closet, fold towels and sheets away, and hoover the two bedrooms upstairs.

alas, i haven't done any of those.

instead, i arranged my stuffs in the guestroom, which will also serve as my craft room. i carried my sewing machine with me too, which, after five minutes weighed like a sack of rice while my other hand dragged a trolley full of knick knacks and what nots.

i moved desks, dressers and a bookcase around. i may have strained my back, because i winced all the time i watched the tv last night. the husband forced me to soak in the bath to relieve my back, and all i could think of is having to clean the bath again afterwards. talk about house chores overload.

but when i get to remember how the new craft room looks like, my complaints float away. even my bad back seemed trivial. can't wait to go back there again to finish my tidying up!

when the work gets tough today, i'll retreat to my room and sew my dreams away.

more updates

hello everyone, thanks for the kind words and prayers and the virtual hugs. i am touched and overwhelmed and grateful beyond words. ♥

mommy is feeling much better now, and her right kidney is starting to recover from the infection already. yesterday she was in the operating room for the insertion of a ureteric stent, to aid the flushing out of a kidney stone lodged in her ureter. she didn't have a fever today anymore, so she might be discharged from the hospital tomorrow. she'll have one more test for her blood sugar though, so hopefully, the results would be normal too.

to the many people who helped us throughout this time, who supported my parents because we couldn't be with them, i will be forever grateful to you!

~♥~

on another note, we've been busy moving our stuffs to the new house, and we're nearly there. i'm off after this, to hang clothes in the closet, arrange my craft room, and hoover the floor. Mem arrives tomorrow, so she's helping me move furniture in the living room. i'm so pooped out from days of dragging bits and pieces of our life to the new nest, but giddy with excitement nonetheless.

i snapped a picture yesterday from my phone, to give you a sneak peek of the firefly nest.

have a great day!
{{{huggles}}}

my mom

is in the hospital right now.

and i'm worried sick.

bawled my eyes out yesterday.

please pray she'll be alright.

thanks!

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update:

thank you sooo much for the nice thoughts. i was crying again while reading your comments. it was a big comfort, thank you from the bottom of my heart, i felt all your hugs.

i just spoke with my mom this afternoon, she's feeling much better and out of pain already. more tests tomorrow, hopefully, nothing serious.

God bless your hearts,

again,

dank u. merci. grazie. maraming salamat po!

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blog love

my 2008 was filled with lotsa mail loving from my bloggy friends. not a month passed when i didn't receive anything from the postman, which was really great! i have no words to describe the excitement i felt for every letter and parcel i got. i didn't really get the chance to be terribly homesick when i arrived here in ireland, because of all the loving thoughts sent to me from around the world!

i am posting photos of some of the stuffs i received, to let you know that i feel so special with our friendship! you may click on the pictures for a bigger view.

origin : Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
from : Jo of Wits and Nuts

for the Creative Swap, Jo sent me a fleece blanket, with cute appliques and embroidered with my name! when i received the package, i was reading the book by cecelia ahern, the gift, and so the blanket made a perfect couch companion! it has also kept me and kj warm on the couch, as we watched movies during the cold wintry weekends. most afternoons, i'm curled on the sofa with a book, a hot cup of choco and this blanket!

i also got a burlap shopping bag, which i LOVE because it's huge, very sturdy, and the handles don't cut on my hand no matter how heavy its load. my grocery shopping is never complete without this bag!

origin : manila, philippines
from : Jen of Bring back the Green

also from Caryn's Creative Swap, Jen sent me a crocheted swirly scarf which was really really lovely. i still haven't worn it until now, because i'm still looking for the perfect dress to match it with. it's somewhat purple+blue, and the swirly design is very unique and so feminine! Jen also sent me a set of crochet needles, a very sweet note, and packs of nagaraya! (which made me beg to my friend in manila to please send me nagaraya because i'm soooo hungry for it, and he did by the way, along with happy peanuts and boy bawang! it was heavenly!)

origin : chicago, usa
from : anne the JavaQueen

Anne is one of my closest friends, and we only met through blogging. last autumn, she surprised me with a big box of goodies which sent me over the moon! anne gave me a beautiful scarf which she knitted herself, in autumn shades of orange and yellow and red. it was very warm and very long, that it felt like a blanket for my neck. she also sent me her collection of vintage heart-shaped cardboard boxes, which she had since she was like 15! those boxes proudly sit on my crafting table now, keeping old buttons and some odds and ends collected from my walk. bags of sweets kept kj and me entertained for over a week too. along with the package, Anne wrote me a letter that warms my heart until now, and for that alone i feel we're kindred spirits.

origin : gauteng, south africa
from : nicole or Sleepyjane

nicole's blog is one i have always loved reading. her wit and humour sends me cracking up every time, that even her daily disasters turn to a comedy. nicole is a very generous girl too, hosting giveaways for her readers every now and then, for absolutely no reason at all. i was one of the lucky recipients of her grater guard, but i was very surprised to pick up a bigger box from the post office. crammed inside were crafting goodies, so pretty that i didn't want to use them! she also sent me a pink journal, with yummy papers inside. it never leaves my bag now, and contains all my daily jots, doodles, schedules and random thoughts. nicole is very crafty, and i love her scrapbook pages with her very simple and sweet designs. she keeps another blog at jane hearts crafts.

origin : kuala lumpur, malaysia
from : mimi of sleepless in kl

sleepless in kl has been ate mimi to me since i was three or four years old. we haven't seen each other though for the most part of the years between then and now, as she studied in manila and eventually moved to KL. thanks to technology though, for making communication easier, faster and much better now. on the other hand, nothing beats the excitement of good old snailmail goodness. for christmas, i received a big care package from malaysia which kj and i slowly enjoyed for many months! she sent me food packets for a sweet&sour recipe (kj's favorite), gravy for mashed potato which was also perfect for roasted chicken, and more comfort food for when i miss home. my favorite would undoubtedly be the graphic tablet for doodling on the computer! i am very impressed when someone actually remembers my favorite things.

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i hope you go and say hi to my wonderful friends!

quirks

i may have a few, yes.

i love old things. i want it worn, raggedy, with a random tear here and there. one reason why i love my volunteer job so much with the charity shop, is the opportunity to snag a random vintage goodie for my home. believe me, the restraint i have to exert every time just to resist buying everything i fancy is enormous! sometimes though, the temptation is too much to resist, and off goes my lunch money. i have no regrets though, even if it would mean a lunch of tea and biscuits only.

yesterday, i went home with a bagful of vintage goodness from work. among the loot, is a set of linen tablecloth with three napkins, all with matching embroidery of dainty flowers. i also bought a tea towel in soft linen with a beautiful applique of wildflowers, and a small crocheted pot holder which looked soooo lovingly handmade. the rest of the loot consisted of a handful of buttons, some old pillowcases to be made into aprons, and a vintage doily.

another quirk would be, my love for some domestic sounds. i get spellbound by certain sounds, one of the many things that holds no valid explanations whatsoever, except that i'm queer. for one, the "pop" sound when you open a new jar with a metal lid. do you know what i mean? it's like popping bubble wraps for me, sooo soothing. i also love the hissing sound of stir-frying...the glob-glob of an egg fried sunny side up in the pan...the sound of water being poured from a pitcher to a glass...a whistling kettle in the stove...the faint and slow rumble of a coffee maker...the chopping thud of a knife against a wooden block...the rip of a plastic seal on a milk jug...ripping openings of food in cardboard boxes...and so so much more.

when i was younger, i preferred "farm sounds" than listening to music on the radio. since i spent so many weekends and summer vacations on our farm, i've grown to love nature sounds more than any other music by any other singer. i loved the rain's pitter patter, the cackle of hens and the roosters' crows, the crickets' and cicadas' chorus in the early afternoon and their subdued singing in the evening, the tension of a thunderstorm, the endless melody of a river (just behind our house), the deafening silence at noontime broken only by bird calls and chirps, the strong wind whipping on the wooden door...to name a few. this fascination with nature sounds is one thing my husband and i share. in fact, we have our own recordings of nature sounds while on holiday in the philippines. we're so simple, i know!

and if i don't sound crazy enough, i love the smell of a tomato plant.

have you any quirk?

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p.s.
we're moving on sunday!
hoooraayyyy!

springtime, as i see it

it's been almost a month since i started walking with the husband to the business park where he works. we usually leave the house at a little over six in the morning, come dark clouds hovering, or a shroud of thick fog hanging, to soft drizzles, to strong wind, to sweeping cold morning breeze, to beautiful sunshines and happy singing birds...

i always have my phone with me during our walks, so i can photograph random things along the way. this picture was taken last month, when trees and shrubs were beginning to grow their leaves again. if you look just beside those metal structures, you'll see a tiny bit of the glowing sun. mornings like this just take my breath away.

the first poppy bloom along the way! it's amazing how a plant can grow and bloom with a little bit of soil on a concrete pavement. poppies grow wild and aplenty here during the summertime, so i was surprised to see this little beauty open up earlier than the rest.

my shopping bag, a present from a dear friend, is a bagful of spring and summer colors, of warmth and simple happiness. it's my constant bus stop companion, carrying mails for the post office, or thrifted fabrics and bric-a-bracs, or a loaf of bread and a jug of milk.

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on family matters:

• we finally found a house! we're moving in a week or two, i can't wait to show pictures of the new home.
• my MIL, Mem, is flying over here for a week-long visit this end of may, and to join me on the mini-marathon this 1 june.
  
• my brother-in-law F and his partner Z, are having a baby in august, and we're set to fly to holland to meet the newest and tiniest member of the family. teheee!
• kj and i are planning for a vacation to the philippines sometime soon, for some sand and sun, and friends and family fun. ^-^

hope your weekend's been grand! take care and be safe everyone!

after a loooonnnggggg silence......

i'm back! ^-^

soooo many things were happening all at the same time here, and because i haven't written in a while, i don't know just where to start. in about an hour, i need to leave for my volunteer job in the city centre, so i'll make this pretty quick. let's tackle it all one tiny bullet at a time....

• we're moving! yep, we were busy with viewing appointments for the new house. summer is almost here, and we're hoping we're nicely settled already for when the weather turns lovely. in ireland, a lovely weather is a very relative term by the way.

• i got invited for an assessment with a company that i applied for last month. it was held last saturday morning, with the rain and strong wind beating the crap out of me as i walk the few hundred meters to the building entrance. i was relieved to find out i wasn't the only one who arrived drenched and shivering, not to mention ruined hair. in ten days time, you'll hear me either cry my eyes out or sing my heart out.

• 

• i've been sewing like caarrrrzzzzyyyyyyy! when the creative bug hits, kj had to wait for his dinner at past eight in the evening. i've made him a new lunch bag, a fabric envelope for my documents, three wristlets/pouch bags, and a card holder for me.
  

• i got a new working desk! one thing i love about the estate where we live, is the online forum where residents share information, tips, advice, virtually everything under the sun. we also have this Buy/Sell section, but usually, people just give away unwanted stuffs to anyone who would want them. i found this unused beech effect desk advertised, and i thought it's perfect for my crafting room. the owner, bless his heart, even delivered it to my house and i got it assembled in 30 minutes!

• my bloggy friends - the sisters and health and wellness champs - glenville and mai, opened their etsy shop selling life amulets in bottles. using only natural ingredients and pure essential oils, their products would make great mates for your wrists and linens. my Relaxation bottle arrived yesterday, and yes i've been busy spritzing my worries away! they have 6 lovely therapeutic scents to suit your different moods. glenville also opened her paper atelier shop with etsy, selling gocco printed notecards in yummy colors and papers. yay for handmade!

• speaking of etsy shops, another bloggy friend, teeni of vaguetarian tea room, now sells her crocheted barefoot sandals in her altered tastes shop. i've purchased a pair from her before as a present to a friend in the philippines who dreamt of a beach wedding. teeni makes dainty crocheted sandals, very unique and a true eye candy!

• and oh, a final say on etsy shops, BIG thanks to everyone who purchased on my wee little handmade shop. the ring of the till is the sweetest sound of all, and the biggest inspiration for me to go on. every little sale is music to my ears, and i feel blessed to have friends who go that far to say they love and support me. *sniff* thank you guys!
  

• i bought my favorite print from theblackapple, and i'm so in love with it. i can't wait to frame and hang it! this print is titled As Long as I Have You, and i love it that the couple in the drawing resembles me and kj. him with his dark-rimmed glasses and brown hair, and her with those large brown eyes and black hair.
  

• i can't get enough of my home sweet home decor by the way, it's a rustic print on a wood block from laura ashley home.

• i finished my Dutch course with Rosetta Stone earlier this month, and now it's kj learning filipino through rosetta stone's online course. it's hilarious to hear him struggling with the words, but thanks to the interactive system, in less than a week, he's counting in filipino now, identifies colors, and knows a few verbs and nouns. fantastic!
  

ok then, i guess these are all for today. i'll catch up with your blogs tomorrow! thanks everyone for your sweet comments on my previous post. i'm still loving that song.