Bloom to Destruction

Have I ever mentioned how much I loathe floral arrangement?

Oh yes, I really do.

We bought our tall white vase a few days ago and finally found some nice "figs" or "sticks" at Spotlight. They are really pretty, though no thanks to me they look horrible now after my itchy hands removed the metal wire that bound them together.

We thought just the red "figs" alone with some flower buds look kinda "empty", so yesterday, Hb went to Harvey and bought 3 of the long white curvy sticks. You should be able to see the display pic in one of my previous entries.

Anyway, I spent a good 45 mins trying to arrange everything nicely inside the vase, but sad to say, I was a complete failure. I realised that there are just some things in life that "you know means you know, you don't know means you don't know".

And Hb, who was at the lappy creating our website, had the gall to comment,"Dear, very ugly leh".

I really feel like tearing and breaking all the figs/sticks!!!

The whole thing reminds me of one of the Gatsby adverts, whereby the hair looked like it exploded or something. Yeah. It really looks "exploded" now.

I give up.

I'm gonna call Mdm Yik to come over to help me arrange that whole thing nicely.

I shall take a before and after pic and post it here.

If she refuses to help me, I can always call Huilin to come over.

Anyone will do. Anyone who has more creativity in floral arrangement than me.

- Phebe

New Additions

Hb couldn't stand it anymore. The more he looked at his face on the artist canvas, the more he complained that he looked like he has jaundice, wahahahahahha! Moreover, the sides of the white canvas weren't 100% clean as the production guys didn't wear gloves when they wrapped the canvas around the frame. They usually don't wear gloves anyway, and the work place ain't exactly dust free.

He finally decided to call the vendor who agreed to re-do another piece for us. After sending us many versions of the same piece with different types of borders, we decided that our original design is still the best. It looks brighter and cleaner~! So, on Saturday, Studio Gallery delivered the new canvas and boy, it really looks much better now! Hb don't look like he has jaundice anymore! I think the company is very good in service recovery. They had printed out a new canvas, but as it also got slightly dirty when they were doing the wrapping, they re-printed the artwork again and this time, not only did all the production guys wear gloves, they also placed the canvas on a clean sheet before doing the wrapping on the frame! Our canvas looks perfect now - bright and clean (reminds me of Listerine mouthwash, lol)~ so happy~!

BEFORE

AFTER



After we dismantled our Christmas tree, we thought that we ought to fill up that spot with some decorative items, and we decided to get a big vase. After combing several places just to find a white or beige colour vase that is at least 60cm tall, we finally found it at Harvey Norman!! LOL, of all places to shop for vases, wahahahhahaa! Hb said it looks kinda "cheena", but I didn't think so. Happy me quickly whipped out my hp and took some pics of the vase, then sent them to a few of my pals to seek their opinion. Luck was on my side, cos all said that the vase was very nice, though another friend replied that she personally prefered transparent vases, lol. Here are a few pics:

THE VASE


Display at Harvey Norman

Anyway, after much hesitation, Hb decided to give in and we bought the vase!!! YAy!!!!! Best of all, there was a 30% discount for floor products, so instead of $169, we only paid $118!! Haha, so happy, now we are only left with the task of shopping for those long curvy-like "sticks" or figs to put inside the vase!

Our living room don't look so empty afterall:



For the first time, I placed the flowers that Hb sent me the other day into a small vase, and manz, they bloomed really beautifully!!! If only I had known earlier, I would have done the same to the previous 12 bouquets that he had given me instead of throwing them away after a few days!

- Phebe

Backwards and Forwards

1 Jan 2008 - Today is the first day of 2008. This is a sensitive moment, we are on the cusp of breaking open the seals on another brand new year, and yet, the previous year hasn't really left us. It's a moment for looking both backward and forward.

2007 has been a year filled with change. The most important change would be getting married and setting up home with Her Royal Majesty. Everything was a heady rush. From the wedding preparations, to the renovation works, at times, things almost seemed destined to break into pieces. But somehow, we pulled through everytime. And for that we thank God for His guidance, and our friends and family members who generously rallied around us and supported us with their time and advice.

Today, we have lived in our new home for slightly more than 3 months. Although it hasn't been a very long period of time, each day spent together is like a gift from above. I'm not saying that we are the perfect happy-smiley-lovey-dovey couple all the time, but I think we are both very much aware how hard we worked to make this happen. As a child, whenever I had a new toy that I really liked, I would have a sickening feeling that somehow something bad would happen to take this toy away from me. Of course, that didn't always happen, but to this day, I still feel the same way at times. Perhaps, this may explain why I am always anxious to ensure that Her Royal Majesty and I always work out any kinks in our relationship instead of turning a blind eye and letting them fester.

In 2007, I made a significant change in my career when I joined my present company. Although the job scope was similar, the scale of operations was much larger, and there is definitely more room for growth. Things seem quite positive so far, and I'm looking forward to new challenges in 2008.

Like most people, Her Royal Majesty has made a list of resolutions to be fulfilled in 2008. As for me, I have never been in the habit of putting into writing my wishes for the year. But for you, dear reader, I will make an exception. So here goes:

1) To learn more of God's Word and put it into practice.
2) To be a more sensitive and understanding husband to Her Royal Majesty.
3) To grow further professionally, in terms of capabilities and people skills.
4) To finally wean off my nasty habit of procrastination.


So that's the whole laundry list of stuff that I will be focusing on for 2008. Of course, like most Singaporeans, I will also be frantically trying my best to get my income to keep up with what the government says are record-breaking inflation rates. Wish me luck!

- Melvin

Giant Photo for Our Study~!

The guys from Studio Gallery came yesterday and did the installation below for us:





See the canvas frame on the wall? Yep, the image is printed on artist canvas. Looks kinda small from the pic, but it actually measures 118cm by 78cm! Our study wall doesn't look so empty afterall, haha.

Here is a close up pic:



Huilin said its very nice, and I feel happy, cos I also share the same sentiments. But Hb is feeling lagi shioker, cos the artwork was done by him!


- Phebe

Ready for X'mas!

We have finally finished spraying our balcony walls!



We also spent part of our Hari Raya holiday putting up the 3 new photoframes that we bought the other day.

- Phebe

A Starry Christmas

We have re-decorated our X'mas tree and this is the updated look:






We also sprayed our balcony's glass walls with X'mas designs, but unfortunately, didn't manage to complete spraying as the 2 cans of spray emptied very quickly! Haiz, gotta go buy more cans of spray later on after work, then go home and continue spraying, lol. This is what has been done so far with the 2 small cans of spray:



We have also started to fill up each others' X'mas socks!



Mine is the one with the snowman and Hb's one is the one with the Santa~!


- Phebe

A Typical Weekday for Melvin

16 Dec 07 - Her Royal Majesty has decreed that her life is boring. To prove her point, she has gamely laid out the details that make up her day. As a loyal subject, it is my duty to inform Her Royal Majesty that although her life may not be the most action-packed one around, there is always someone out there who is one rung higher (or should that be lower?) on the boredom scale. See below:

6.45am: Alarm clock goes beep-beep-beep. I usually get up by the fifth or sixth beep and stretch out an arm to silence it. Next, I trudge out to the common toilet, grab my towel, head back to the master toilet to take my shower, and spruce myself up sufficiently so that I don't go around scaring anyone who sees me.

7.05am: My eyelids have now gathered enough strength to hold themselves apart. I pop in my vitamin (yes, only one) and start preparing breakfast for both of us. This usually consists of sliced bread and whatever spread catches my fancy. Occasionally, I would stretch my culinary abilities and make a ham and cheese sandwich for Her Royal Majesty.

7.15am: Time to wake Her Royal Majesty. This involves 5 minutes of prodding, poking, shaking and a quick shoulder massage. Then it's back to finish up the half-completed sandwich.

7.30am: I head to the walk-in-wardrobe to slip on my work wear, which really just consists of quickly pulling on my black pants and grabbing the nearest shirt. I also slap on some hair wax (yes, it's the brand with the Japanese actor pulling funny faces in front of the mirror).

7.45am: Out of the house and headed to work!

Yet another exciting day in my world.


- Melvin